What is water puppetry about?
Vietnamese water puppetry is a unique folk art practiced since the 11th century. Villagers in the delta of the Red River and in other rice-growing regions of Northern Vietnam staged water puppet performances at religious and end-of-harvest festivals, and on other important occasions.
Water is both the stage and a symbolic link to the rice harvest at water puppetry shows. It also conceals puppet strings and puppeteer movements, improves musical and vocal acoustics, and provides a shimmering lighting effect.
Each water puppet is hand-carved and given five layers of lacquer paint to make it waterproof and add vibrant colours to the performance.
While puppets move around, directed by puppeteers standing waist-deep in water behind the stage, singers tell their story in songs. A water puppet show typically depicts Vietnamese day-to-day rural life along with important historical events and ancient legends.
Water puppetry is a popular form of entertainment nowadays too, especially for local children and foreigners discovering Vietnamese folk culture.
The world-famous Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre
I had an opportunity to watch a show of the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre.
I went to buy a ticket first thing in the morning on the day of the show. When it was my turn in the short line at the ticket office, I was told they only had a few tickets left for the last performance of the day, at 8 p.m. I still happily bought it as it was my only chance to watch such a performance on that trip. The ticket cost 100 000 dongs, about 5 USD.
The audience comprised of mostly adult foreign tourists, but some children too.
The show started with a folk music composition played by a Vietnamese orchestra on traditional music instruments: drums, wooden bells, horns, bamboo flutes and cymbals.
There were fourteen sketches all in all, portraying agricultural work, catching frogs, chasing a duck-hunting fox and fishing, among others.
The performance was concluded by dances of four animals sacred in Vietnam: a dragon, a unicorn, a tortoise and a phoenix.
The show was about one hour long and left a distinctive and lasting impression.
Water puppetry in the Museum of Ethnology
Later on the same trip I was in the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology and learned that in November 2015 a new open air pavilion for water puppet performances had been opened there. The pavilion was built in traditional style similar to that of the Thay Pagoda pavilion dating several hundred years back.
One of 16 Vietnamese folk water puppetry troupes performs there every Saturday and Sunday, four times a day. There is also a small exhibition of water puppets in the building nearby.
Some venues where to watch a water puppetry show
Hanoi
Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre
Address: 57B Dinh Tien Hoang Street, Hanoi
Hanoi Museum of Ethnology
Shows only on weekends
Address: Nguyen Van Huyen, Hanoi
Lotus water puppet
Address: 16 Le Thai To Street, Hanoi
Venues in the other cities of Vietnam
The Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theater
Address: 55B Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, Ho Chi Minh City
Hoi An Theatre - Water Puppets
Address: 548 Hai Bà Trưng, tp. Hội An
Co Do Hue Water Puppet Theatre
Address: 2 Phan Boi Chau, Hue
Check even more things to do in Hanoi.
- Published by Anita on April 2016
- Visited April 2016
Author: Anita Sāne
About the author
Anita is a part-time traveler, passionate photographer and a mature career woman from Latvia, traveling mostly solo for more than 10 years. She is a skilled travel planner planning and executing her travels by herself. Anita wants to show you how to travel the world and open your mind to new experiences. Follow her also on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and Bloglovin.
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