Display of Water Puppets from Hanoi, Vietnam,
carved for the Thang Long Puppet troupe, l996.
Mua Roi Nuoc (Water Puppetry)
Display of Water Puppets
from Hanoi, Vietnam,
carved for the Thang Long Puppet troupe, l996.
A highly developed form of water puppetry developed at least by
the 12th century in Vietnam and is practiced to the present. Water puppetry's
origins can be traced to the Ly and Tran dynasties and references to this genre
are found in 
literary works which describe the art as a courtly entertainment. Until the
1980s the form was primarily practiced by male villagers in the delta of the
Red River near Hanoi who organized themselves into guilds of puppeteers to present
performances drawing on village life at temple ponds or in village sites to
celebrate festivals. Secrets of puppet mechanisms and construction are fiercely
guarded by guild members and makers. Since the l980s urban artists who trained
with villagers have learned and modernized aspects of the art, and performances
are held daily by Thang Long Theatre and bi-weekly by the Central Water Puppetry
Troupe in Hanoi. In Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) troupes have developed as well,
bringing this art indigenous to the north to the southern area. Student trained
at the National Film and Theatre Academy make up these new urban troupes whose
dancing puppets create images of village ways and evoke patriotic sentiment
with puppets that walk on the water.
The puppets are made of wood and can vary in size from sixteen inches to three
feet high. The parts of the puppet include the body and an
underwater base. Strings are used to connect the different parts of the puppet's
body, making hands or heads move. The puppets can be operated by poles hidden
beneath the murky water, manipulated by a puppeteer who is behind a rattan curtain
or staging house. Larger puppets are usually attached to a round wooden disc
that floats and is attached to the pole.
Similarities exist between temple statues and water puppet figures. The puppet
makers must either have adapted the design of statues found in such places of
worship or the creators of such statues must have taken part in puppet making.
The traditional water puppet stage is home to many historical, legendary and
mythical characters, but most abundant are those embodying the essence of ordinary
Vietnamese peasants. A performance usually begins with the commentary of the
clown Teu. Short episodes lasting from one to seven minutes then make up the
bulk of most water puppet performance. Scenes reflect village life, aspects
of traditional culture, short episodes drawn from the traditional theatre forms,
and historical or mythical figures.
In most contemporary water puppetry, text is minimal and gives only hints to
the audience about the underlying message of the scene. Musical effects create
the backdrop for a performance. Firecrackers signal the opening and climatic
scenes, while drums, bells, gongs, horns, and shells provide the accompaniment
for the varied episodes.