page_title: Namsadang
section_title: Deolmi
hierarchical_section_title: Namsadang / Namsadang nori / Deolmi
caption_attribution_description: Deolmi (덜미), or called kkokdugaksi noreum (꼭두각시놀음) for Korean traditional puppetry. It was performed for Hi! Seoul Festival on April 28th 2007
context_page_description: The namsadang is a Korean itinerant troupe which consists of male performers who present various performing arts such as acrobatics, singing, dancing and playing like a circus.
  It is said that namsadang was spontaneously formed before 1900 during the Joseon Dynasty
  and used to wander about marketplaces and villages. The troupe was considered the lowest class in society along with cheonmin or baekjeong, so that very few historical documents remain on them. However, since a record that a puppet show was performed during the Silla period has been found, it is assumed that similar types of itinerant companies appeared in Korean history a long time ago.
  During the late Joseon Dynasty, there were several namsadang, but the one whose base was set in Cheongryongsa temple in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province was the most famous. They became called namsadang because the troupe were composed of only men and "nam" means a male in Korean. Later, a few female members were accepted to join in the group.
  The six performances which the troupe performs are collectively called Namsadang nori, literally meaning nori performed by namsadang. Nori refers to play, game or performance in Korean.
context_section_description: Deolmi (덜미) or puppet play is played last. It is also known as "kkokdu kagsi noleum" (꼭두각시놀음), which comprises the three words: kkokdu (puppet), gaksi (maiden) and noleum (nori, performance). In addition, the puppetry is called "parkcheomji noleum" (박첨지놀음) and "Hongdongji nori" (홍동지놀이), all of which are named after the main characters in the play. In Korea, puppet plays appeared first in the early age of the Silla Dynasty (BC 57 – 935 AD). All the other puppet plays disappeared later, but deolmi survives and has been brought down through generations. Its main story is about the resistance against the dominant aristocratic class and satirizes corrupt Buddhist priests.  So the play appealed to the commoners and the poor public, which perhaps explains its popularity, and ultimately why it has survived so many years. It was designated as Important Intangible Cultural Property before the other parts of the namsadang nori.
  Generally performers use about 40 puppets and around 10 hand props.
caption: Puppets used for deolmi
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