Water puppet show is a Vietnamese folk art which has a long history of over one thousand years from the Red River Delta . It reflects wet rice civilization because it gives out the rural activities and folk tails concerning rural life also. It must - see show when traveling in Vietnam.
The art of water puppet was born under Ly Dynasty (1010 - 1025) in Northern Vietnam. It is also called drama on water of which puppets are characters that are made of jack fruit timber. The artists who control puppets stand half-deep - body in water behind bamboo curtains. They use bamboo poles and strings to manage the puppet games. The games includes cultivating rices, harvesting rice, flooding rice field, fairy dance, phoenix dance, fox catch ducks, Le Loi King's story and holy tortoise...
The most outstanding puppet is Chu Teu, which has round face and funny smile giving humorous saying to audience. The waster puppet art is performed in the theaters, on the villages ponds and lakes at special occasions like village holidays or New year festival.
Travel to Vietnam you can enjoy water puppet art in big cities like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh city, Halong, Danang, or villages in countryside performed by artists or farmers. The ticket price is from 5$ - 10$ depending on class ranges.
