Water puppetry pays tribute to rural life in Vietnam’s Red River Delta.

Water played a central role in Vietnam’s ancient wet rice growing culture shaping Vietnam’s religious beliefs, legends and arts. The ancient art of of water puppetry arose out the nation’s veneration of water

The art of water puppetry is unique to Vietnam’s northern Red River Delta, a product of the area’s ancient wet rice civilization. originally staged on ponds or flooded fields, water puppet plays are executed by puppeteers who stand waist-deep in water and hide behind a bamboo screen. made of wood, the puppets are attached to long poles, which skillful puppeteers manipulate underwater to create the illusion that the puppets are floating. Puppet should be a most important part of each tour for discovering traditional culture for foreign Vietnam Travel visitors.

While many researchers have tried to determine the origins of water puppetry, al that is certain is that these performances grew out of a culture that venerated water. Surrounded by ponds and rivers, Vietnamese people considered Water to be one of the basic elements of the Universe, together with Heaven, Earth and forest. It is interesting to note that many ancient people divided the Universe into three different realms, man World, and the Underworld.

According to Vietnam’s Four Palaces folk belief, Water is a holy element along with Heaven, Earth and Forest. The Water Palace, or the domain os water, is ruled by deities who bless humans depending on their sincerity and respect. From these original beliefs, Vietnamese people revere phenomena associated with water, such as Thunder, Lightning, Wind, Clouds and Rain. The following folk verse speaks of humanity’s origins.

I am well known everywhere I come
I am the son of Thunder and the Thunder Goddess’ nephew
Originally I lived up in Heaven
One day I fell down here to be a human on earth.

Dependant on water for wet rice cultivation, Vietnamese people came to regard water as a holy force to be respected but also feared. Water, Fire, Theft and Robbery are known as the Four Calamities. Legends like one about the Mountain Genie and the Water Genie reveal people’s instinctive fear of water’s destructive power. Yet despite its dangerous nature, water remains holy. Long ago, sorcerers would expel demons with water. In some regions there is proactive of boating to the middle of a river to fetch water to wash statues in a temple or a pagoda. A popular festival game involves throwing a red-painted pomelo into a water-filled hole to symbolize the union of made and female energies.

Vietnamese people also view Earth (Đất) and water (Nước) as two components of the Nation (Đất  Nước). Give the cultural importance of water, it is easy to understand the ancient beginning of water puppetry. This art recreates human’s daily life on water.

Water puppetry lacks the complicated stories and diverse characters of traditional Chèo and Tuồng operas, or the noble music of Ca Trù. Born out of humble rural life, water puppet plays feature around 20 different human. animal and fairy characters. Bobbing ducks join smoke-breathing dragons; fairies with brightly colored wings dance with fishing couples; and a mischievous fox tries to catch the ducks. The funniest and most original character if Teu, a playful boy. Differences of scale are ignored and everything is simplified in this funny theatre. Viet Vison Travel provides the best Vietnam Travel Deals.

This art appeals to audiences due to its birth from old beliefs. Exaggeration, slapstick and surrealism make us laugh, as when we see Teu’s ear-to-ear grin or when a huge fish is trapped in a tiny fishing basket. Despite its few characters and simple props, water puppetry wins audiences’ hearts. Born from the worship of Water, this folk art shines glory onto Vietnam’s spiritual life.

The Ho Chi Minh City Puppet Troupe has attracted the public with nearly 300 plays and toured to the remote areas across the country during 30 years.

The troupe also traveled to foreign countries including Canada, the U.S, Singapore, Thailand, China and others to introduce the Vietnamese typical kind of art.

Dinh Trong Dung, the play’s director, says of the 15 puppeteers involved in the forthcoming show, “Most of them were only recently taken on and are quite young, but they are full of enthusiasm.” The enthusiasm is much appreciated. Dung believes that this unique Vietnamese art form is in need of a new lease of life in terms of its workforce.

Vietnamese people are deeply fond of this 1,000-year old art form, which is also arguably the only performance art that has proved popular with foreign audiences. “While the lack of audiences is the toughest problem for most traditional arts such as Cheo, Tuong or Cai Luong, for puppetry it is a lack of manpower,” says Nguyen Thuy Nga, the deputy head of Central Puppetry Theatre’s Art Management Division.

Vietnam does not have a school specialising in puppetry art. Most of the theatre’s puppeteers were recruited from the Traditional Arts Faculty in Hanoi’s College of Theatre and Film Studies. It can take up to four years of further training for students to get up to the standard required for a professional performance.

While Vietnamese audiences have a sentimental attachment to water puppetry, discerning fans would also like to see something new. Nga believes that the genre also needs a new wave of directors and playwrights. She points at a huge pile of scripts on her table and shakes her head. Only one or two are usable. “It is extremely difficult to write a script.” The pantomime style used to retell famous legends appeals to kids and foreign tourists looking for a slice of Vietnamese culture, but Vietnamese adults need something more.

Carvings in the village temple, which were chiselled in the post-Le Dynasty, express many of the stock water puppetry characters. Carvings of Fairies, wrestlers, squirrels climbing a pillar and the ever-present Teu, give the Hong Phong water puppetry guild a history dating back to the 17th century.