4/27/2023 0 Comments Water puppetry hanoiIt’s like Vietnam Culture 101 done in a wet and wooden fashion. And with the art form, the many Vietnamese culture and subcultures throughout the country are presented and highlighted. The Thang Long Water Puppet Theater revives the art of mua roi nuoc and introduces it to tourists (and locals) at their regular shows in Hanoi. Some of the puppets were so complicated and heavy that at least two people were needed to control them. The rice paddy or the river served as the stage for the puppets which were maneuvered remotely via a device made of poles and strings dipped in the water. Believed to be invented over a thousand years ago by farmers in Red River Delta (a rice-growing region in northern Vietnam), it was performed in religious ceremonies and also at the end of the harvest season. ![]() Known locally as mua roi nuoc, water puppetry enjoyed more popularity than some other forms in ancient Vietnam. They vary from culture to culture - the Wayang Kulit (shadow play) of Indonesia, the Bunraku of Japan, the Budaixi (glove puppets) of Taiwan, the Kathputli (string puppet) of India - but they all offer a brief look at the way of life of the ancient civilization that gave birth to the theater plays. The shadow puppets based on the Indian epic poems - the Ramayana and the Mahabharata - are examples of these. Of course, a few have survived the test of time and the waves of cultural revolutions. Because many of these plays are passed on from generation to another through spoken words, some have unfortunately disappeared. The origins of these puppet plays are obscure but many even predate written text. From India to China to Southeast Asia, the use of puppets was a very popular and effective tool in not just simple storytelling but also keeping such stories alive. Puppetry is a significant part of many ancient cultures in Asia. We missed the first five minutes of the show but our front row seats made up for what we lost. Thang Long Water Puppet Theater in Hanoiįortunately, latecomers were still allowed to enter. ![]() We ended up catching our breaths as we swept through the Old Quarters just to beat the opening time of the show. Why we chose a restaurant on the other end of the area was something I don’t have an answer to but we did and enjoyed our dinner so much that we didn’t realize that an hour had already passed. (Excuses…) We arrived at the theater to buy tickets over an hour before the show so we decided to have dinner first. (Denial.) But it was because we were too early for the show.
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