![]() Only humble examples of water puppet theatres remain, such as the pavilion at Thay Pagoda, built in the Later Le period (about 1533-1708) and the one at Dong temple, built in 1775. The history of Vietnam is one of the successive wars which left in their wake destruction of the nation’s monuments and heritage. Similarly, several literary works by Phan Truong Nguyen (12th century) and others by King Tran Thai Tong (1225-1258) appear to confirm that water puppetry was a courtly entertainment during the reigns of the Ly and Tran dynasties. In the above-mentioned passage from ancient literature, the scholar Nguyen Cong Bat was clearly describing a scene from water puppetry possibly attended by the then King. A Courtly musical prelude is played, the door to the grotto opens and fairies appear in a dance entitled The Wind Comes while singing in praise of Good Fortune flocks of birds dance and twitter, herds of innocent deer jump for joy. Casting a glance at the bank, it opens its mouth to spurt waters towards the jetty, turns its face up to admire the king’s crown, then bows its head to examine the immense sky (the clouds mirrored in the water, and the steeply-rising escarpment. “The golden tortoise, swimming in a leisurely way, carries three mountains on its head above the rippling waves, its carapace, its feet visible in the clear slow-moving waters. ![]() History of Traditional Vietnamese Water Puppetry People often said that it is often a great mistake if you do not watch the Vietnamese traditional puppet show in your Vietnam vacation. Enjoying a water puppet show will show you not only the outstanding performance but also the long-established culture, tradition, and customs of the S-shaped country. More complicated puppets have very special structures: dragons that can sprut fires and water, fishes or frogs that snatch bait.With the history of 4000 years, generations of Vietnamese people have created and maintained a lot of traditional arts and water puppetry is the best one among them. Teu’s arms has a single articulation while fairies’s arms have joints at their hands, wrists, elbows and shoulders. Fairies‘ arms can wave around the axis perpendicular to their body. When working out a water puppet item, first of all artisans think of movements and operation mechanism of puppets in order to make puppets with proper structures.įor istance, Uncle Teu has two arms moving around a vertical axis. Puppets maker must be good at designing, wood sculpture and have a good knowledge of the complicated movements of water puppets. With the skilful manipulation by the performers, the puppets can swim, catch fish, cross sword, row a boat, raise a flock of ducks, dance, jump high in the sky, spurt fire and kick a ball. To move puppets to a far distance from the manipulation room, poles with pulleys are placed under the water to connect the strings between puppets and performers. ![]() Ropes or string run from the puppet’s articulation through pulleys and along the pole to the performers. ![]() The plate is linked with a long pole which the puppeteer uses to move the puppet on the water. A water puppet stands on a round wooden plate which can rotate around its horizontal axis with a rudder at the bottom.
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