Water Puppet Theater is one of Vietnam’s unique traditional arts.
The Water Puppet Theater is usually held in a waist-deep pool. The puppets are carved out of wood and often weigh up to 15 kg. The puppeteers stand behind a screen and control the puppets using long bamboo rods and string mechanism hidden beneath the water surface.
The story reference is taken from daily life stories and Vietnamese folklore that are told by grandparents to their grandchildren – from stories on harvesting time, fishing or festivals. The perfomance is usually accompanied by continuous sounds of drums, cymbals, violins, gongs and Chinese bamboo flute. The musicians also interact with the puppets; for example, shouted a warning sign of the dangers.
Vietnam Water Puppet Theater is originated from the delta of Red River in 10th century, inspired by the characteristic of the old civilization Vietnamese farmers. The puppet theatre has been showed to the world for 5 centuries afterwards. In the past the Vietnamese villagers believe that spirits controlled all aspects of their lives, from the kitchen to the rice paddies. Water puppet is used as a tool to to satisfy the spirits.
Many local and international tourists have enjoyed the water puppet performances. One of world’s popular water puppet group is Rong Vang or Golden Dragon from Ho Chi Minh City. In 2009, they performed at Kijimuna Festa, an annual international performing arts festival for children and young people. Celebrated with a huge success, the troupe performed again in Japan last year.
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