VIETNAMESE WATER PUPPETRY DSYMBOLISM PORTABLE

Next, a mixture of Vietnamese lacquer and alluvium from the Red River is applied to the puppets. Then the artist covers them with nets for protection. After being carved, any cracks are filled with lacquer. There are five main stages of construction. Puppets are carved from fig wood, the most endurable and suitable material and each can weigh up to 15kg.

VIETNAMESE WATER PUPPETRY DSYMBOLISM PORTABLE

Nowadays water puppet performances tend to be help in one of three venues – on village ponds, on portable tanks built for travelling performances or, as in Hanoi and major cities, in specialized water puppet theaters with specially constructed pool stages. It also hides the puppet operational equipment and puppeteer movements, enhances the acoustics and provides a shimmering lightening effect. The water serves a dual purpose – it is the puppets’ stage whilst and a symbolic link to the rice harvest. Original water puppet festivals were those literally held inside a rice paddy, with a pagoda built on top to hide the puppeteers, who stand waist deep in water. When the rice fields flooded, the villagers would entertain each other using this form of puppet play. The tradition of water puppetry dates back to the 11th Century originating in the villages of the Red River Delta in Northern Vietnam.

One of the most popular tourist attractions in Hanoi is the iconic Water Puppets Show, or Mua Roi Nuoc in Vietnamese, meaning, “ making puppets dance on water“.

Vietnamese water puppetry dsymbolism