Beyond Our Shores
Water Puppetry
Article and photos by Vincent Lim Sui-leong Water puppetry is believed to have originated from the villages in the Red River Delta region of Northern Vietnam in 11th century CE. While rod, string and hand puppetry are well-developed in many parts of Southeast Asia, water puppetry is an art form that is unique to Vietnam. Before the spread of Confucianism and Buddhism from China, the ancient Vietnamese were steeped in animalistic and shamanistic beliefs. Spirits are believed to control all aspects of life, from the kitchen to the rice fields. Water puppetry was seen as a way to placate these potentially malevolent spirits. Another theory, however, explains that the Vietnamese were simply being their usual ingenious selves in using flooded rice fields as impromptu stages to continue their craft during the rainy season.
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Beyond Our Shores
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Puppets, often weighing up to 15 kilograms, are crafted from wood and lacquered for waterproofing. Shows are staged in waist-deep pools of water. Hidden behind a split-bamboo screen decorated with banners and flags to simulate a temple faade, puppeteers would manipulate the puppets using an intricate system of rods, pulleys and strings concealed under the murky water. This creates the illusion of puppets moving over water, and thus the Vietnamese name ma roi noc, which literally means puppets that dance on water. Though originally confined to the rice fields, portable tanks were later built by enterprising travelling performers, so that they can uproot and continue to make their living outside the rainy season and in other places. Nowadays, water puppet shows are staged in theatres equipped with spotlights and modern sound systems. A traditional Vietnamese orchestra provides the background music accompaniment. The instrumentation includes vocals, drums, wooden bells, cymbals, horns, n bau (monochord), gongs, and bamboo flutes. The clear and dignified notes of a bamboo flute accompany the appearance of royalty, while the dramatic clashing of
Beyond Our Shores
drums and cymbals announces the entrance of firebreathing dragons. Singers of cho (a form of opera) provide lyrical narration for the stories acted out. Interestingly, musicians and puppets often interact during a performance. For instance, the musician may yell a word of warning to a character in danger, or even counsel a character in despair. The performance usually comprise of a series of skits. Snapshots of bucolic rural life feature predominantly: harvesting season, kite-flying festival, a pair of fighting cocks, a farmer chasing a fox up a tree for stealing his chickens, boys catching fishes and frogs with bamboo traps, and the top scholar returning to his home village with gifts and pompous fanfare. Another popular subject matter is folklores and legends: fire-breathing dragons, the acrobatic courtship forays of a pair of phoenixes, the mesmerising dance of the celestial maidens, and King L Loi returning the Miraculous Sword to the Golden Turtle (Vietnams version of King Arthur and the Excalibur).
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Beyond Our Shores
This quaint art form nearly became extinct during Vietnams protracted war from 1950s to 1970s. It was only recently revived and made known to the world as a result of Vietnams adoption of open-door policies and normalised relations with the West. Since the early 1990s, three companies in particular National Puppet Theatre, Thng Long Puppet Company and Ho Ch Minh City Puppet Company have gained international recognition for the quality of their performances, and there has been a constant demand for them to appear overseas. Having emerged from the murky depths of the countrys wartorn history, the future is looking bright for water puppetry as it dances in the spotlight on the international stage.
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