The art of Van singing is depicted through water puppetry

Taking Highway No.3 from Ha Noi to the centre of Dong Anh, then turning right and continuing for 10km, we arrived at Thuy Dinh – the water puppet stage in Dao Thuc Village. Here, Ngo Minh Phong, head of the village’s water puppetry guild told us about the history of the village’s water puppetry. According to a stele at the village’s communal house, the master of water puppetry was Nguyen Dang Vinh who was a eunuch during the reign of King Le Y Tong (1735-1740). After returning home, he taught the villagers weaving, carpentry and water puppetry. However, only water puppetry has thrived until now. To commemorate him, the villagers annually hold an incense-offering ceremony on February 24 according to the lunar calendar.

Thuy Dinh, a replica temple façade of traditional northern architecture set up on a beautiful pond surround by green trees, is the main stage for water puppet shows in the village. During the performance, puppeteers stand in the waist-deep water behind Thuy Dinh, separated from the front stage by a split-bamboo screen and handle puppets with bamboo rods, ropes and pulleys hidden underwater. “The performing skills of the puppeteers in the guild have improved thanks to combining ropes and bamboo rods to control the puppets,” said Phong. Each maneuver of the puppets is skillfully manipulated to be natural and match the characters’ speeches as well as the tunes and beats of the background music.

The plots are closely related to Vietnamese folklore or daily routines, featuring the culture and people of the Vietnamese countryside. Audience interest focuses on skits such as fire crackers and flag raising, dragon dances, peacock dances, frog catching, swimming fish, Thach Sach fighting evil and Van singing. Each show for visitors includes 10 to 15 skits. During the village’s festivals, puppeteers can perform more.