Dao Thuc village Archives

In a small village on Ca Lo River in Hanoi’s Dong Anh district, a group off dedicated performers are trying their best to maintain Vietnam’s traditional water puppetry. Dieu Linh reports.

After a 40km-journey from the centre of Hanoi, I arrive in Dao Thuc village, Thuy Lam commune in Dong Anh district on a cold rainy morning to meet Ngo Minh Phong, the deputy head of the Dao Thuc water puppetry troupe. The 54 year-old puppeteer pours a much needed cup of tea to warm me up and explains why his village has a deep love for the art of water puppetry.

The forefather of the village troupe was Dao Dang Khiem (also called Nguyen Dang Vinh), a mandarin who served under the reign of King Le Y Tong (1735-1740). The venerable local resigned from public service in the late 18th century and returned to his home to Dao Xa village, the ancient name of Dao Thuc, where he joined locals in building a communal house, a pagoda and other parts of the village.

He also trained some locals how to perform water puppetry as he had learned from water puppet troupes serving the royal family. Today his legacy is going strong. There is a troupe of 18 puppeteers, who give on average 20 performances a month, mainly for foreign tourists. The troupe performed at the Dalat Flower Festival and put on more shows inside Van Mieu (The Temple of Literature) on the first three days of the Lunar New Year festival.

The pride of Dao Thuc village is Thuy Dinh, the water puppet pavilion set on a beautiful pond surrounded by green trees, next to the village’s communal houses and a large yard. Although the art form has been maintained here for generations, in recent years there has been fresh interest in water puppetry from foreign tourists.

Thuy Dinh, the water puppet pavilion

“Since 2005, more and more tourists have come to see the troupe’s performances thanks to our close cooperation with five travel agents,” says Phong. “Even for a 10-person group, we’ll put on a show.”

From the 12th to the 2nd lunar month a village festival is held with regular shows by Dao Thuc water puppet troupe. Most performances last just 5-7 minutes. Dao Thuc water puppet troupe stick to a classic formula with traditional yarns that depict life in the countryside or well-known Vietnamese folk tales.

Visiting backstage inside Thuy Dinh, I see six performers inside a pool of cold water while Phong handles the lights. There’s a well-oiled harmony to the seven performers. No one speaks but everyone knows the drill.

“We cannot get rich from this job but we have a great passion for puppetry,” says Nguyen Thi Thoa, 45 year-old puppeteer. “We all want to not only maintain but develop our ancestors’ pursuit by creating more plots, more puppets and handing down this art form to the next generation.”

For each show the troupe makes about VND 2 million ($95 – the price in 2012). After dividing this sum up and deducting costs for electricity, fuel and the upkeep of puppets, there isn’t much left to encourage the next generation or invest in infrastructure and training.

“We went to a lot of trouble opening training classes for about 15 or 16 teenagers but most of them gave up,” says Phong. “Only six young trainees have stayed with us. I think some people think that we can earn a lot of money but after they perform they discover the truth.”

Leaving the village in the dusk, I cannot see the path, so I turn toward the village’s communal house to see the lights of the Thuy Dinh still shining in the gloaming.

Dao Thuc village has a rich traditional of water puppetry but the local troupe will find it hard to entice the next generation to maintain the art form.

Som images of Dao Phuc village:

>> Discover beauty of northern Vietnam: Hanoi city tour with water puppet show, view the trip at here.