For the ancient farmers, the art was much more than pure entertainment as it provided a getaway from the reality of a hard farming life. The ancient Vietnamese villages and villagers are comically portrayed through sequence of varied scenes. Starting as a type of self-entertainment among rural communities, water puppetry has evolved through generations into a world-recognized art of Asian tradition and a crucial highlight of Vietnam tours. Water puppetry shows often bring a lot of laughers, delight and relaxation, as that is what the art is meant to be. The invisible “illusionists” of the Vietnamese folklore. Though performing remains a physical challenge, problems with water are much less of a concern for modern puppeteers as they are protected by their specialized waterproof performer suits. To keep warm and prevent hypothermia, they often drank fish sauce and ginger tea before each performance. Rheumatism was one of the ailments they got from prolonged water immersion. Performing artists in the old days were susceptible to cold, leech bites, waterborne infection and diseases. In general, performing water puppetry shows is hard work entailing hours wadding in cold even in winter. To operate this unit, which is heavier than a single puppet one, the operator must be physically fit. Synchronizing puppets’ movements including facial expressions and gestures across the stage often requires a multiple puppet control unit. The art of puppet operation has remained a closely guarded secret to date for centuries. Thanks to the control system, every move they make is conveyed into the puppets’ graceful liveliness. Around eight to ten artists stand in waist deep water operating the puppets while looking through the curtain’s slits to follow their movements on stage.
The set often depicts some familiar settings such as a pagoda or a communal house common in all Vietnamese villages. Puppetry artists do not show themselves while performing but hide behind the set backed by a bamboo blind curtain hanging over the water. Puppets as sculpture works Becoming alive on water stage He appears in nearly every show at the beginning and at intervals, acting as narrator and commentator adding an air of humor and lightheartedness. The most typical character puppet is Teu, a childish-looking and chubby boy clown with a cheerful smile and a distinctive tufty haircut. Puppet appearances usually are comical and highly symbolic. The system extends back behind the stage for the operator to maneuver. The underwater base is connected to a complex control system consisting of a long main pole up to 15 feet and multiple rods and strings. The floating body represents the characters that will appear on the water surface in front the audience. Normally, each puppet consists of two interlocking parts, the body and the base. Weighing from two to ten pounds, puppets average from twelve to forty inches in height. To ensure buoyancy for the puppets, craftsmen often use light types of wood especially the one from cluster fig trees. Weighty wood though is generally not qualified for material as its causes the puppets to sink. Puppets are handicraft items whose making includes four meticulous steps namely carving, drying, sculpturing and finishing. It conceals controllers’ maneuvers while allowing for natural effects like waves and splashes that make the show exciting. Using water as a stage floor is a unique creation by famers who spend days on end in waterlogged paddy fields. For Vietnamese farmers, water is a dear companion without which, rice – the primary Vietnamese diet – cannot grow. Initially, water puppetry only performed in ponds and paddy fields upon farm work completion, a successful crop or special occasions such as festivals or Lunar New Year.Ī puppetry show is a creative combination of two seemingly unfitted and unrelated elements the water and the puppets. The exact time when it began is not known but an early record of the art was found on a stone stele dating back to the 11th century in the Red River Delta, North Vietnam. This is because the art is deemed to come from Vietnam.
Puppets that dance on the water are generally known as Vietnamese water puppetry.
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