But it depends on the contribution of the puppeteer, who usually don’t receive any salaries.There’s not much support from the government because it faces many financial difficulties. One of them told AP, "Puppet shows are not very expensive to produce, so we’ve been able to revive them. Most of the puppeteers are farmers who work hard to perfect their technique but generally perform for free. The groups that are the most successful are the one who perform before tourist in Hanoi and Saigon. They typically know a repertoire of 40 or 50 vignettes. There are currently about a dozen water puppet troops, performing mostly in villages in the Red River Delta. (Only one permanent stone structure is known to exist.) Above the water was constructed a temporary structure, from which a bamboo curtain hung to shield the puppeteers from the audience sitting on the banks of the pond. In the old days the performances were usually arranged at the village ponds, typical features of Vietnamese villages. The puppeteers, originally ordinary villagers, manipulate 30- to 40-centimeter-high puppets while standing in water. The factors all work together to bring out charming glimpses of the Vietnamese psyche, as well as typical landscapes of Vietnam. There are many contributing factors to the art of water puppetry, including such handicrafts as wood sculpture and lacquer work. The configuration of the poles and wires under the water is a secret, and spectators are not allowed to watch from behind the screen. Complicated mechanisms make it possible to move the puppets’ limbs and even to make a puppet smoke a cigarette. The puppets are manipulated with rods hidden under the water. Some of the puppets are quite large-60 centimeters tall and weighing 13.5 kilograms-and are manipulated by three puppeteers. The most outstanding puppet, known as the chu teu, has a round face and a humorous and optimistic smile. Each puppet is handmade, has its own posture and expresses a certain character. Vietnamese water puppets are made of wood and coated with lacquer and waterproof paint. Vietnamese Water Puppets and Water Puppeteers The show is interspersed with such items as a Dance by the Four Mythical Animals: Dragon, Unicorn, Tortoise, and Phoenix and Dance by the Eight Fairies, in which supernatural beings enjoy festivities alongside people of this world. The characters plough, plant rice seedlings, fish in a pond with a rod and line, scoop water with a bamboo basket hung from a tripod, etc. At a water puppet show, the audience watches boat races, buffalo fights, fox hunts and other rustic scenes amidst the beating of drums and gongs. The pond and lakes of the northern plains, where crowds gathered during festival and galas, become the lively stages for the water puppet shows. In a number of small villages near Hanoi water puppet theater is still performed at certain festivities, as it has been in times past. It is an old and rare North Vietnamese form of puppet theater, and it has actively been revived since the 1980s. Miettinen of the Theater Academy Helsinki wrote: "Vietnam also has its own tradition of puppet theater, mua roi nuroc (puppets that dance on water). The Vietnamese government has asked that it be declared part of the world’s cultural heritage by UNESCO.ĭr. Water puppetry nearly died during the war years but has been revived in recent years and is enjoyed by Vietnamese and tourists. More of a folk art than a court art, it has a long history of being performed in ponds and rice paddies during lulls in the agriculture cycle. According to one story, water puppetry was developed in the 11th century in the Red River Delta by puppeteers who decided to carry on even though there was a flood. The stories, which are well-known to Vietnamese, are conveyed through actions. Performances are usually accompanied by music and have little dialogues. Featuring stories from everyday life and famous legends, it features fire-breathing dragons, farmers, frogs, old men, gods, goddesses, and fish.
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