The ancient Greeks used puppets, as did the Romans. Those who still miss the homeland, come back."Īs is fairly well-known, puppetry is one of the earliest forms of theatre-a craft whose origins can be traced to the first Asian civilisations. The sound of a flute floating above the back of a buffalo. The villages enclosed in emerald green bamboo, The rural scene, On a Buffalo with a Flute, is accompanied by a haunting musical theme and includes the following poignant verse: When the turtle asks the Le Loi to return a sword, which saved his life during the protracted war, the King agrees and renames the lake Hoan Kiem or restored sword. The king is boating in a lake following the 1418-1427 Vietnamese uprising against Chinese domination. Legend of the Restored Sword is from the fifteenth century and concerns Le Loi, a Vietnamese king, and his encounter with a magic turtle. Dressed in fine clothing and accompanied by honor guards, trumpets and flags the graduates return triumphant to their villages. Graduates' names were carved on tablets and carried to Hanoi's Van Mieu or Temple of Learning to be entered in the royal record. Triumphant Return, an act dating back to the 11th century, shows young men and women returning to their home villages after graduation. The more interesting of the many scenes from rural life include Catching Frogs, Fox Stealing Ducks and On a Buffalo with a Flute.ĭance of the Dragons and Dance of the Fairies are based on an ancient legend, which claims that the Vietnamese people are the product of a union between a dragon (Lac Long Quan) and a fairy (Au Co). Some of more charming acts include Dance of the Dragons, Triumphant Return, Legend of the Restored Sword and Dance of the Fairies. Poetry, fireworks and the watery reflections of the brilliantly coloured puppets, combine with splashing sounds and the alluring music of bamboo flutes, drums, bells and single-string violins to transport the audience to a world of fishermen and villagers of knights on horseback and beautiful princesses of water buffalo, fish, frogs and ducks of unicorns, lions, magic turtles and fire-breathing sea-dragons. "Seeing that this society is full of complicated problems," he says, "I must wade in to try to sort out these entanglements." And what "entanglements" ensue as the puppets dance, dive, glide and swim across the watery stage, accompanied by a five-member orchestra of traditional Vietnamese instruments during the troupe's vigorous hour and quarter performance. Cheu Teu tells the audience that he was exiled to earth from heaven for stealing fruit. The Thang Long performance in Sydney began with a musical prelude and an introduction by Cheu Teu, a kind of comic master of ceremonies. In the past, water puppeteers endured water-borne diseases, rheumatism, leeches and other difficulties in order to practice their craft. The puppeteers stand waist deep in the water, their work screened from the audience by a raft, pagoda or some other floating structure. Many are so heavy and complex that two or three people are required to manipulate them. The puppets, some standing two feet high and weighing up to 15 kilograms, are maneouvred across the water's surface via a system of underwater poles, rods and strings. During the height of its popularity in the Ly dynasty (11th to 13th centuries) and succeeding Cham dynasty it was also performed in permanent floating pavilions. In contrast to other puppetry, Vietnamese water puppetry is a theatrical form in which a rice paddy, river or pond forms the stage. Unknown outside Vietnam until recently, this unique art form provides a glimpse of the cultural life and times of ancient Vietnam-in particular the stories and legends that provided enjoyment and amusement to peasant farmers and fishermen. Mua roi nuoc was devised more than a thousand years ago by villagers from the Red River delta and other rice-growing regions in northern Vietnam to celebrate the end of rice harvests, mark religious festivals and at later stages entertain the royal court. The Thang Long Water Puppet Troupe of Hanoi, which performs the age-old craft of water puppetry or mua roi nuoc, has just ended a successful season at the Royal Botanical Gardens, part of the annual Sydney Festival.
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