National_Geographic_Traveller_India-May_2018

34 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELLER INDIA | MAY 2018

REED KAESTNER/GETTY IMAGES

(THEATRE)

,

GERHARD ZWERGER-SCHONER/IMAGEBROKER/DINODIA PHOTO LIBRARY

(PUPPETS)

OF LAKES, LORE AND VIETNAMESE PUPPETS

DISCOVERING THE TRADITIONAL ART FORM OF WATER PUPPETRY IN HANOI BY ARUNDHATI HAZRA

T

he clanging of cymbals and
plaintive notes of a flute
accompanied the fairy puppets
that emerged from behind the
pagoda-like screen. A singer crooned
a Vietnamese ballad dedicated to the
fairy goddess, Âu Cơ, believed to be the
ancestor of the Vietnamese people. The
two-foot-high wooden puppets held
candles, their rhythmic dance changing
with the tempo of the music and their
movements very much like that of
kathak dancers. It was an impressive
performance, but what made it extra-
ordinary was the fact that the stage in

front of the screen was a pool of water.

Puppetry is part of most Asian

cultures, be it the kathputlis of India,

the bunrakus of Japan or Múa rõi nước

the shadow puppets of Bali. Water

puppetry is indigenous to Vietnam, and

has been promoted enthusiastically

in recent times. The tradition is

thought to have emerged as a form

of entertainment for the spirits that

people believed controlled the ebb and

flow of rivers, as well as for villagers

coming home after a hard day’s work. It

can be traced back to the 11thcentury,

to the villages of the Red River Delta

The hour-long water puppet shows

at Thang Long theatre are held

daily. The puppets enact folk tales

and mythological scenes such as

the dance of the fairies, children of

Âu Cơ (b ot to m), who is the mother

goddess of the Vietnamese.

THE ITINERARY VIETNAM