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The art of the water puppetry

Puppetry is a traditional art form closely connected with
the long-standing spiritual life of the Vietnamese people. There are many kinds
of puppet-shows in all the corner of the country. Puppets of different kinds
can be found all over the country. However, puppetry art has been developed and
diversified as well as popularized mostly in northern midland areas and the
plains in Vietnam. The word "roi"
(puppetry) has become part of the proper name applied to villages, to pagodas
and even to ponds found in many places. (Puppetry villages at Y Yen, Nam Dinh
Province; puppetry
pagodas at Phu Xuyen, Ha Tay province…)

 Since early times,
"robe-climbing and puppetry" have been forms of entertainment and
have attracted lots of people. Public love, here and there, was expressed
through Vietnamese folk songs, idioms, and literature…

 In old days, puppetry
was closely linked to the tradition and customs of Vietnam.
Dong An village festival (Hung Yen province) reperformed the myth of
"Dung, Da" by two big puppets. (These two big puppets were made of
bamboo, had paper faces and colorful clothes). The villagers carried them
around the village and showed their great happiness. This kind of puppets was
found in Ba Chua Muoi Temple Festival (Queen of Salt Festival). Its face was
made of bamboo, its body was made of poles and its march-clothes were made of
sails. All parts of Ly Than Tong Statue (Ha Tay province) and Linh Lang Statue
(Ha Cau Temple, Hai
Phong Province)
were carved separately and were put together with joints so that they could
move like string-puppets. There were many puppets standing over night in the
fields in order to threaten mice and birds harmful to crops. On Mid-July, Vietnamese
people often burn joss stick and paper items for lost souls. On Mid-Autumn
Festival (Ram), adults buy toy-puppets for

children. Dragon dances, Lion dances, the dance of Four
Magical Animals, Land God dances are attractive amusement of festivals in ethnic
minorities. There have been many bird-disguised dances connected with
"Animal religion" such as peacock dances (Black Thai ethnic
minorities), Phoenix dances, Gru bird dances (Ede ethnic minorities),
and Dove dances (Cao Lan ethnic minorities). " Puppet-statues" found
in worshipping of La Chi and Lo Lo people. Bana ethnic minorities have many
puppetry shows in funeral festivals in order to satisfy not only themselves but
also the lost souls. In "puppetry family", there has been "mask
dances" at Xuan Pha (Thanh Hoa province). Khmer people (from
South
Vietnam) have
their own mask stage called Robam Tuong.

At present, Bi Pagoda (Nam Dinh Province) and Keo Pagoda (Ha
Tay province) still preserve puppetry theatres, which were built on the surface
of the ponds in front of Communal Houses centuries ago, have survived until the
present day in several places such as Thay Pagoda (Ha Tay province) or Giong
Temple (Hanoi).