Park Chung-bae and his Ko-rean friendssay that they'll always remember the puppet shows they witnessed byfarmer artists and elderly artisans in Dao Thuc village, in Hanoi's DongAnh district.
"We were very surprised to see that local farmer artists couldpreserve a quintessential art that has been handed down from theirancestors for 350 years," Park said, adding that audiences could see thebeauty of the puppets playing in the rural landscapes, such as in DaoThuc.
Park told the English-language daily Vietnam News that he liked thenarrator, Teu, the most, and that it was the most important characterand the soul of the water puppets.
"Teu plays a role comparable to an emcee, with a Vietnamese twist. Heis entrusted with the task of opening the festival, introducing theprogramme and reviewing current village events.
"His frequent appearances enable him to serve as an intermediary,creating sympathy between the audience and the puppets," Park said.
All of the different items, such as Phung Hung Fights a Tiger, ABuffalo Hides in a Pipe, The Dragon Dance and Thach Sanh Kills thePython, are very interesting too, said Park.
"It is very enjoyable and relaxing," he said, adding that he wasamazed to see puppeteers cut off the head of a tiger and carry it ontheir shoulders when combining their skills with each other.
Park's remarks were echoed by many other foreigners in the audience,Nguyen The Nghi, head of the troupe's marketing unit, said.
Nghi said that his troupe planned to restore 22 old items for theguests, but due to financial shortages, the troupe often played only 17of them. But they were still very interesting, he noted.
About five years ago, the Ford Foundation and the Swiss Fund supportedDao Thuc puppeteers to help restore their old plays and build a waterstage in the village's pond, said Nghi.
"We've been invited to perform both inside and outside of the country,such as in Japan , China and the Netherlands . We also always winbig prizes at local and national puppetry contests," he said.
Dinh Huu Tu, 50, an artisan with a passion for performance since hewas a child, said that he doesn't tire of training young artists in thevillage.
"Since the troupe's fame has been expanded far and wide, our farmerartists and villagers' living standards have improved, because afterworking in the field they can perform puppet shows for local and foreignguests," Tu said.
The troupe still boasts several elderly puppet artisans, includingDinh Nhu Sinh, 67; Dinh Huu Nghiem, 74; and Nguyen Van Bon, 75.
"Foreign guests are particularly interested in the way the stories aretold through the skilled performances," said Tu.
The troupe has 35 members and is divided into two teams. The youngestmember is 12 years old.
In the past, females were kept out of the art, but now artisans havechanged their minds and will train anyone, male or female, if they have apassion for the art, said Tu.
Moreover, coming to Dao Thuc, guests also have a chance to visit thevillage's ancient Thanh Phuc Temple and Communal House, and a300-year-old structure where four generations lived under the same roof.They can also see a workshop producing beautiful puppets for bothperformance and sale, as souvenirs for guests to bring home.
The guests will also be invited to enjoy very delicious glutinous riceplanted in the fields by the villagers, Tu said.
The Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has chosen DaoThuc Village to host a national puppetry festival to be held inOctober to celebrate the capital's 1,000-year anniversary, said Nghi.
An official from the department also said, "We chose Dao Thuc becauseit is a rural area that knows how to preserve and develop the veryspecial traditions of puppetry."
All 15 puppet troupes across the nation will join in the festival. "Itwill be a good opportunity for puppeteers and artisans to exchangeexperiences and learn from each other," Nghi said.
He said that his Dao Thuc puppet troupe and 14 others have beenproposed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to UNESCO forrecognition of their water puppetry as Intangible Cultural Heritage ofHumanity.
The troupe hails from Dao Thuc Village , Thuy Lam Commune in DongAnh district, more than 30km from the centre of Hanoi .
The villagers believe that their ancestor, Dao Dang Khiem, brought theart form to them around 350 years ago when he returned home afterworking as a high-ranking mandarin during King Le Y Tong's reign(1735-40).
Khiem, also known as Nguyen Dang Vinh, was born to a strictlyConfucian family and showed artistic promise from an early age.
He was trained to become a virtuous man before being appointed to workat the Le court.
When the Le dynasty began to go into decline, Khiem returned to hishomeland and helped the villagers to end their dependence on ricefarming and supplement their income by growing cotton, raising silkwormsand making textiles.
Once living standards began to improve, Khiem helped set up four majorguilds: teachers, martial artists, rice-mill makers and puppeteers, tohelp develop the village's cultural life.
When he died, the local villagers turned his death anniversary into avillage festival, which is held every year on the 24th day of the secondlunar month to commemorate his services.
Thus, his legacy lives on, although the puppeteers comprise the onlyone of his guilds that has survived until the present day.
"We perform every day from 2.00 to 3.30pm for guests from as far awayas Italy , France , Germany , the US , Japan and the Republicof Korea . These guests are brought to the village by roughly 300travel agencies and companies in the north," said Nghi.
For further information, please visit www.roinuoc-daothuc.com./.
"We were very surprised to see that local farmer artists couldpreserve a quintessential art that has been handed down from theirancestors for 350 years," Park said, adding that audiences could see thebeauty of the puppets playing in the rural landscapes, such as in DaoThuc.
Park told the English-language daily Vietnam News that he liked thenarrator, Teu, the most, and that it was the most important characterand the soul of the water puppets.
"Teu plays a role comparable to an emcee, with a Vietnamese twist. Heis entrusted with the task of opening the festival, introducing theprogramme and reviewing current village events.
"His frequent appearances enable him to serve as an intermediary,creating sympathy between the audience and the puppets," Park said.
All of the different items, such as Phung Hung Fights a Tiger, ABuffalo Hides in a Pipe, The Dragon Dance and Thach Sanh Kills thePython, are very interesting too, said Park.
"It is very enjoyable and relaxing," he said, adding that he wasamazed to see puppeteers cut off the head of a tiger and carry it ontheir shoulders when combining their skills with each other.
Park's remarks were echoed by many other foreigners in the audience,Nguyen The Nghi, head of the troupe's marketing unit, said.
Nghi said that his troupe planned to restore 22 old items for theguests, but due to financial shortages, the troupe often played only 17of them. But they were still very interesting, he noted.
About five years ago, the Ford Foundation and the Swiss Fund supportedDao Thuc puppeteers to help restore their old plays and build a waterstage in the village's pond, said Nghi.
"We've been invited to perform both inside and outside of the country,such as in Japan , China and the Netherlands . We also always winbig prizes at local and national puppetry contests," he said.
Dinh Huu Tu, 50, an artisan with a passion for performance since hewas a child, said that he doesn't tire of training young artists in thevillage.
"Since the troupe's fame has been expanded far and wide, our farmerartists and villagers' living standards have improved, because afterworking in the field they can perform puppet shows for local and foreignguests," Tu said.
The troupe still boasts several elderly puppet artisans, includingDinh Nhu Sinh, 67; Dinh Huu Nghiem, 74; and Nguyen Van Bon, 75.
"Foreign guests are particularly interested in the way the stories aretold through the skilled performances," said Tu.
The troupe has 35 members and is divided into two teams. The youngestmember is 12 years old.
In the past, females were kept out of the art, but now artisans havechanged their minds and will train anyone, male or female, if they have apassion for the art, said Tu.
Moreover, coming to Dao Thuc, guests also have a chance to visit thevillage's ancient Thanh Phuc Temple and Communal House, and a300-year-old structure where four generations lived under the same roof.They can also see a workshop producing beautiful puppets for bothperformance and sale, as souvenirs for guests to bring home.
The guests will also be invited to enjoy very delicious glutinous riceplanted in the fields by the villagers, Tu said.
The Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has chosen DaoThuc Village to host a national puppetry festival to be held inOctober to celebrate the capital's 1,000-year anniversary, said Nghi.
An official from the department also said, "We chose Dao Thuc becauseit is a rural area that knows how to preserve and develop the veryspecial traditions of puppetry."
All 15 puppet troupes across the nation will join in the festival. "Itwill be a good opportunity for puppeteers and artisans to exchangeexperiences and learn from each other," Nghi said.
He said that his Dao Thuc puppet troupe and 14 others have beenproposed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to UNESCO forrecognition of their water puppetry as Intangible Cultural Heritage ofHumanity.
The troupe hails from Dao Thuc Village , Thuy Lam Commune in DongAnh district, more than 30km from the centre of Hanoi .
The villagers believe that their ancestor, Dao Dang Khiem, brought theart form to them around 350 years ago when he returned home afterworking as a high-ranking mandarin during King Le Y Tong's reign(1735-40).
Khiem, also known as Nguyen Dang Vinh, was born to a strictlyConfucian family and showed artistic promise from an early age.
He was trained to become a virtuous man before being appointed to workat the Le court.
When the Le dynasty began to go into decline, Khiem returned to hishomeland and helped the villagers to end their dependence on ricefarming and supplement their income by growing cotton, raising silkwormsand making textiles.
Once living standards began to improve, Khiem helped set up four majorguilds: teachers, martial artists, rice-mill makers and puppeteers, tohelp develop the village's cultural life.
When he died, the local villagers turned his death anniversary into avillage festival, which is held every year on the 24th day of the secondlunar month to commemorate his services.
Thus, his legacy lives on, although the puppeteers comprise the onlyone of his guilds that has survived until the present day.
"We perform every day from 2.00 to 3.30pm for guests from as far awayas Italy , France , Germany , the US , Japan and the Republicof Korea . These guests are brought to the village by roughly 300travel agencies and companies in the north," said Nghi.
For further information, please visit www.roinuoc-daothuc.com./.
