Water Puppet Show – ‘Mua Roi Nuoc’ Video

An oversea writer said that "water puppetry is the soul of Vietnamese fields." How right he is! At a water puppet show, the audience lives in an atmosphere of a village festival; the audience watches boat races, buffalo fights, fox hunts and other rustic scenes amidst the beating of drums and gongs. The characters plough, plant rice seedlings, fish in a pond with a rod and line, scoop water with a bamboo basket hung from a tripod, etc. The show is interspersed with such items as a 'Dance by the Four Mythical Animals: Dragon, Unicorn, Tortoise, and Phoenix "and the 'Dance by the Eight Fairies', in which supernatural beings enjoy festivities alongside people of this world.
Vietnamese water puppeteers have been touring a number of countries from Euroupe to Asia such as France, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan, India, etc, with great successes. The director of the World Cultural House said that Vietnamese water puppetry is never far from its roots in rural Vietnam. Vietnamese water puppeteers are masters of an unequalled means of expression. Their art has enriched the world's cultural heritage. A French magazine wrote that the puppets "are manipulated with unimaginable skill, as if by magic."
In fact, Vietnamese water puppetry has a very long history. An inscription on a stone stele in Doi pagoda, Duy Tien district, Nam Ha province (2 hours drive from Hanoi), relates a water puppet show staged in the year 1121 to mark a birthday of King Ly Nhan Tong in 4036 words.
In the water puppet shows there is a very effective combination of visual effects provided by fire, water, and the movements of the marionettes. The whole control system of the show is under the surface of the water, concealed from the audience . When fairy figures appear to sing and dance, it is calm and serene; then, the water is agitated by stormy waves in scenes of battle, with the participation of fire-spitting dragons.
There are many contributing factors to the art of water puppetry, including such handicrafts as woodern sculpture and lacquer work. The factors all work well together to bring out charming glimpses of the Vietnamese psyche, as well as typical landscapes of Vietnam.