From behind the curtain wooden figures would emerge one could see the torso above the surface. Although the technique of manipulation is not directly described, it is clear that the puppets in the water were moved from a distance with the mechanism of manipulation below the surface.Īnother description, from 1640, discusses a special pool, part of which was separated by a silk curtain that masked puppet players from spectators. A description from around 1119 tells of puppeteers rowed in a boat, presenting fishermen pulling catch out of the water and manipulating figures playing ball or dancing to music. The technique of early performances in China is not clear, but some commentators believe that the figures at the time of Emperor Yangdi (605-617) were mechanized water puppets. Chinese DevelopmentĬhinese literature attests to water puppets as an old art, shui kailei si ( shui, water kailei, puppet si, play). Today, however, it is clear that international artists are learning from the Vietnamese model, such as the Carter Family Marionettes in Seattle (USA) and Theodora Skipitares of New York. The art may have originated in South East Asia’s wet rice society or have come to Vietnam from China where the earliest records of water puppetry are found. In the 1980s, folklorist Nguyen Huy Hong noted that eight villages had active troupes that continued the phuong arts as they were handed down from earlier periods. Their performance extends elements from the rich tradition of phuong, secret societies of village puppeteers who cultivated this art in the Red River Delta to celebrate temple and village festivals. Vietnamese water puppetry william wesler series#They enact a series of interludes that distil mythology and humorous scenes of village life to create a national representation. Manipulators, waist-deep in the pool’s water, hide behind a temple-like façade covered with a bamboo screen in their staging house. These puppeteers manipulate large (50 centimetres or more), finely sculpted figures using bamboo poles or track mechanisms. These companies employ men and women who are well trained in national art academies, joined by top musicians. Vietnamese water puppetry william wesler professional#Presentations are given by professional puppeteers ( Vietnam National Puppetry Theatre, Nhà Hát Múa Rối Quốc Gia Việt Nam, and Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre, Nhà Hát Múa Rối Thăng Long) based in Hanoi, who tour internationally. The art of water puppetry should not be missed when you are in Hanoi.Water puppets survive only in Vietnam. The live music plays an integral part of the show with singers often shouting words of encouragement to the puppets. These sketches reflect the Vietnamese rural life, agricultural harvests, dances and legend. Today’s performances usually include a number of short sketches rather than one long story. The puppets are controlled by no more than eight puppeteers hiding behind a bamboo screen. Nowadays, water puppet shows are performed in a pool of water at modern theatre. A large rod which supports the puppet under the water is used by the puppeteers to move the puppets across the water. The ancient art of Vietnamese water puppets stems from the tradition that rice paddies were flooded and villagers stood in the waist-deep water with the puppets and performed a mini show of puppets over the water. Today’s Vietnamese water puppetry is a unique variation on the ancient Asian puppet tradition. Water puppetry has been a long tradition dating back as far as the 11th century CE originating in the villages of the Red River Delta area of northern Vietnam.
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