Vietnamese Water Puppet Show
One of the highlights of the trip was the Vietnamese Water Puppet Show. A little bit of research reveals that Múa rối nÆ°á»›c is Vietnamese water puppetry, which literally means “puppets that dance on water.” The tradition dates back as far as the tenth century when it originated in the Red River Delta area of northern Vietnam. When the rice fields would flood the villages, villagers would entertain each other using this puppet form.
Water puppetry is performed in a chest-deep pool of water, with the water’s surface as a stage. The puppeteers stand behind a curtained backdrop. Up to 8 puppeteers stand behind a split-bamboo screen, decorated to resemble a temple facade, and control the puppets using long bamboo rods and string mechanism hidden beneath the water surface.
A traditional Vietnamese orchestra provides background music accompaniment. The instrumentation includes vocals, drums, wooden bells, cymbals, horns, erhu (Chinese two-stringed fiddle), and bamboo flutes. The bamboo flute’s clear, simple notes may accompany royalty while the drums and cymbals may loudly announce a fire-breathing dragon’s entrance.
Singers of Cheo (a form of opera originating in north Vietnam) sing songs which tell the story being acted out by the puppets. The musicians and the puppets interact during performance; the musicians may yell a word of warning to a puppet in danger or a word of encouragement to a puppet in need.
The theme of the skits is rural and has a strong reference to Vietnamese folklore. It tells of day-to-day living in rural Vietnam and Vietnamese folk tales that are told by grandparents to their grandchildren. Stories of the harvest, of fishing and of festivals are highlighted.
Legends and national history are also told through short skits. Many of the skits, especially those involving the tales of day-to-day living, often have a humorous twist. ( Wikipedia )
Don’t leave Vietnam without seeing this. It is uniquely Vietnam.
July 18th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
this looks very unique… so the peppeteers are underwater? how does this work?
July 18th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
They are standing behind the screen controlling their puppets using long bamboo sticks which are submerged underwater. The puppeteers are in the water upto waist high and wear waders. Maybe should get divers to do the show eh…. what say you?
July 20th, 2008 at 11:08 am
very unique, so iam planning to go.