Water Puppet is called “Múa rối nước” in Vietnamese, which means “Making the puppets dance on the water”. The art of making the puppets dance on the water has been our tradition since 11th century, and it began when the farmers tried to entertain themselves in the flooded rice fields.
In the last 1000 years, water puppet shows were performed in the countryside, where they built a small house, like a temple, in a fish pond to shelter the puppeteers. The audience would then sit around the fish pond, in the open air, to enjoy the show.
Today, you’ll see the show in a theatre, but the water stage and the performance are similar to the one found in the countryside. The puppeteers still stand behind a split bamboo screen, in the waist-deep water, to control the puppets through a system of bamboo rods, which are hidden in the water.
The show is about 1 hour, during which you’ll see 10 most traditional acts that tell the Vietnamese folk tales and the daily life of people in countryside, such as Dragon dance, Phoenix dance, Fairy dance, four holy animals dance, King Le Loi returned the sword to the holy turtle, Fox chases ducks, farming, fishing, and swimming.
The performance will be initiated by a character called Uncle Teu, the name means ‘laughing’ in Vietnamese. Uncle Teu appears as a smiling man wearing nothing but a simple loin-cloth, he starts the show with some welcoming and witty comments on social realities, like corruption.
The background music during the show is a traditional Vietnamese orchestra, which includes vocals, drums, wooden bells, cymbals, horns, “Đàn bầu” (Vietnamese monochord), gongs, and bamboo flutes.
Beside the background music, there is also a singing of chèo, which is a form of opera originating in northern Vietnam. It tells the story being acted out by the puppets, or give encouragement to a puppet during the show.
Well, hope this post was informative enough to help you prepare for a wonderful stay in our city. Contact us if you’re interested in a personal street food tour in Hanoi. Also, follow us on Instagram and Facebook to keep updated on what’s new and what’s interesting in Hanoi.
