The wooden puppets are lacquered and painted in various colors to form their faces and clothes. To add to the mystery, fireworks, colorful lights, and even dry ice are floating in the water. Vietnamese opera singers frequently belt out beautiful songs that tell the stories being performed. If there is danger ahead, it is customary for the musicians to break off and shout warnings to the puppets. Nowadays, the performances are always accompanied by a Vietnamese orchestra, which weaves beautiful music from instruments such as bamboo flutes, horns, drums, wooden bells, and string guitars. The traditional art of water puppetry has evolved over the last 1,000 years. Water puppetry continues to fascinate audiences many centuries later and is a treasured intangible cultural heritage of Vietnam. During the reign of the Lý Dynasty in the 12th century, the best water puppet troupes in the country were chosen to entertain the king and guests, setting a new high for the art’s social status. Water puppetry evolved as a folk art form from serving familiar people to performing for royalty. It’s impossible to understand how the talented artists work their magic from behind the pagoda screen, their hands beneath the murky, mudded waters, as you watch the puppets skim across the water, ideally in sync and sometimes even passing objects between one another. Photo by vietnamtravelĪside from the beautiful show, this mystery draws thousands of Hanoi tourists into the theatre each year. The original water puppetry comes from Vietnamese farmers. Even today, puppeteers must train for three years before performing, and their methods are often kept a family secret. They passed skills down through the generations, but only to sons, for fear of daughters marrying outside the village and revealing their magic formula. #Water puppetry at home how to#Thus was born the liquid stage, which conceals the puppeteers, improves acoustics, and adds a mystical shimmer to the show.īecause the original story of water puppetry comes from Vietnamese farmers, the puppetry reflects the culture of ancient Vietnamese, which is primarily agricultural.įarmers took the art seriously from the beginning and kept the secret of how to control the puppets close to their chests. The water aspect is thought to have come into play when large floods hit the rice paddies of the Red River Delta and farmers adapted their traditional puppetry, operating the wooden figures from waist-deep water. The farmers constructed pagodas above their rice paddies and held community festival shows to display their creations and well-honed puppeteering skills. Water puppetry means “making puppets dance on water”. They also believed that the shows kept the naughty spirits away from any mischief that could harm their crops. The art dates back to the 11th century in northern Vietnam’s Red River Delta when rice farmers began to make puppets and put on shows to entertain their families and neighbors after the difficult harvest season was over. Even today, when visitors to Hanoi flock to the main theatre to witness the unusual art, it is unknown how the small figures are mastered so effortlessly by hidden puppeteers. Water puppetry, also known as Múa rối nước in Vietnam, means “making puppets dance on water.” It is a Vietnamese tradition steeped in history, folklore, and mystery. Here’s a quick primer on Vietnam’s fantastic water puppets. View scenes from village life on a moving stage, learn about festivals and traditions and meet quirky characters based on Vietnamese personalities. Water puppetry in Vietnam is a fully realized art form that both young and older adults enjoy. Water puppets can entertain adults as well as children.
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