Yaya Coulibaly

Born into a family of puppeteers, with roots in the Bamana, he began his initiation in the puppet and masquerade figures at the age of ten as an apprentice to his father. Later he studied art at the Institut National des Arts de Bamako, and puppet theatre at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts de la Marionnette in Charleville-Mézières, France.

In 1980 he formed his own puppet company, the Sogolon Puppet Troupe,{{cite web | url=http://english.cntv.cn/program/cultureexpress/20121019/103812.shtml | title=Mali puppet theater stuns audiences | publisher=China Central Television | date=19 October 2012 | access-date=26 April 2016 | author=Xue, Qin}} and has since become the leading custodian of the Bambara puppetry tradition, the oldest and richest of Africa's surviving puppetry traditions. Coulibaly is the custodian of a vast collection of puppets, many of which have come down to him through his family. Speaking of his passion, Coulibaly said:

I depend on puppets, my family lives only for this. This is my bank, this is my territory, this is my book, this is all my domain and every day that God gives us.

Coulibaly has created a new and dynamic puppet theatre that draws from the ancient traditions of puppetry in West Africa. His performances incorporate traditional folk tales and legends and episodes from Mali's great epics, as well as colonial history and commentary on contemporary life in Mali. The techniques in his performances include hand puppets, rod puppets, marionettes, masks and live music. Sogolon has performed in Europe and the USA.{{cite web|url=http://www.lefigaro.fr/|title=Le Figaro - Actualité en direct et informations en continu|access-date=18 September 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB112915534965367136|title=Puppets and Polemics|first=Robert|last=Greskovic|work=Wall Street Journal |date=13 October 2005|access-date=18 September 2018|via=www.wsj.com}}{{cite web|url=http://theater.nytimes.com/2005/10/06/theater/reviews/06tall.html|title=Long-Necked, but All the Rage in Paris|first=Charles|last=Isherwood|work=The New York Times |date=6 October 2005 |access-date=18 September 2018}} A selection of this puppetry collection was exhibited in Germany, South Africa and USA.{{cite web | url=http://www.handspringpuppet.co.za/handspring-productions/tall-horse/ | title=Tall Horse | publisher=Handspring Puppet Company | date=2012 | access-date=26 April 2016}}

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.journaldumali.com/article.php?aid=95 Yaya Coulibaly, la passion des marionnettes] by Bintou Fane - 13/06/2009, Le Journal du Mali
• [http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/puppetry-is-the-soul-of-the-people-of-mali-1.221853 Puppetry is the soul of the people of Mali], September 14, 2004, by Dawn Kennedy, Independent Online (South Africa)
• [http://english.cntv.cn/program/cultureexpress/20120710/105676.shtml Puppeteers in Mali keep traditions alive for new generations], CNTV English web site, 07-10-2012

{{Portal|Mali|Biography}}

• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13684676 In pictures: Mali's master puppeteer], BBC
• [http://www.francetv.fr/culturebox/les-marionnettes-magiques-de-yaya-coulibaly-50503 Les marionnettes magiques de Yaya Coulibaly], France3 Culturebox

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Category:Puppeteers

Category:Malian artists

Category:Bamana people

Category:1959 births

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century Malian people

Category:21st-century artists

Category:People from Bamako

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