National_Geographic_Traveller_India-May_2018

(Jacob Rumans) #1

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
Free download pdf