Unique ancient water puppetry troupe in the North

(LĐXH) - The sound of drums and wooden fishes urged each other on, the spectacular fireworks and flag-raising fireworks rang out, and each puppet skillfully appeared and disappeared on the water surface.

Under the curved red tiled roof of the pavilion, water puppetry is a treasure trove of Northern folk culture, a living embodiment of human values in the spiritual life of the villages in the Red River Delta.

For the people of Ban Thach village (also known as Rach village), Hong Quang commune, Nam Truc, Nam Dinh , the art of water puppetry has become a source of pride and spiritual food for generations.

Breathe life into the "character"

People of Ban Thach village eagerly look forward to the water puppet shows at the village festival.

According to the elders in the village, in 1755, Mr. Mai Van Kha, a carver, gathered people who knew how to perform puppetry in the village to establish a water puppetry troupe, which was then called the Nam Chan puppet troupe (Rach village was previously called the Nam Chan region). With the skills of carving statues and lacquer, the villagers created their own puppets such as: Uncle Teu, fairies, dragon puppets, unicorns, turtles, phoenixes, etc.

Rach villagers still tell their children and grandchildren about Mr. Pham Van Truc - one of the people who carved beautiful statues and thought of many interesting games; Mr. Pham Van Nhuong was the one who composed stories and composed good songs...

Artist Phan Tien Huu, Head of the Ban Thach Water Puppet Troupe, is assigned to look after the ancient puppet warehouse located next to the water pavilion. The warehouse has up to a thousand puppet characters that Mr. Huu can name, describe the story of the play, and even remember the year of each character. He said he does not know the exact number of puppets in the warehouse because there has never been a specific statistic and certainly no one dares to "touch" anything here.

According to the ancestors, every time there is a festival, the puppets in the warehouse are brought out to perform in the water pavilion. Any puppets that are damaged are repaired, and those that are so damaged by termites that they cannot be repaired are brought to the Thanh Hoang and then burned in a ceremony.

Also because of that sacredness, in the shabby, old warehouse roof there are still puppets that are hundreds of years old. Although the paint is faded, many details are chipped, eroded by time, but the carved and engraved lines are still extremely soft and delicate...

The puppets are carved with stylized lines, then polished and decorated with different colors to create the personality of each character. Puppeteer Phan Van Manh is one of the few people in Rach village who both performs puppetry and directly creates the puppets.

Born into a family with a 7-generation tradition of making water puppets, with his father's guidance and innate talent and passion, artisan Phan Van Manh created many puppets.

Artisan Phan Tien Huu is the person assigned to look after the village's ancient puppet warehouse.

“Water puppets are a product of folk wood carving art, both rich in realism and rustic and lyrical. To make the puppets, it takes many stages, requiring meticulousness and dexterity of the craftsmen. The unique feature of Nam Chan puppets is that they are made from fig wood and lacquer, easy to control underwater,” said artisan Phan Van Manh.

To make a complete puppet, it must go through 8 stages: Modeling, drying, cutting, grinding, priming, painting, silver plating, and color coating. Each painting step takes 5 days. Finally, it is polishing, polishing, and decorating. The water puppets often used in performances include Mr. Teu, a fairy, a farmer, or a fisherman...

Among them, the most typical character is Uncle Teu, with a plump body and humorous smile symbolizing the joy and optimism of farmers in production labor.

To make puppets move smoothly during performances also depends on the technique of installing the machine and strings to control the puppets.

Water puppetry machines are divided into two basic types: pole machines and string machines, which are responsible for moving the puppets and creating actions for the characters. To meet market demand, artisans in Rach village also make many small puppets as souvenirs for visitors to the performance.

Associated with tourism development

In the past, the Rach village puppet troupe often performed at the village pond. People used the village pond as a place to practice and set up a puppet show booth to entertain the villagers during festivals.

Every time the puppet troupe performs, everyone from old to young, men and women call each other to come and watch, making the atmosphere of the village more bustling than usual. The puppet theater is made of bamboo, the curtain is made of green cloth embroidered with four words "Quoc trung huu Thanh", meaning "loyal to the country and serving the Saint".

Every year, on the 16th of January, the village holds a puppet show to honor the village's tutelary god, and also to remind descendants to remember the merits of the ancestors of the profession.

In 1987, the village built a water pavilion of more than 2,000 square meters to facilitate performances.

The water pavilion was built opposite Rach village's communal house. The unique feature of the water pavilion is that the pillars and beams are all made of shiny black ironwood, the eight roofs are covered with ancient moss-covered tiles, the eight blades of the water pavilion are shaped like dragons spraying water, implying that the water of heaven cools the souls of the water puppeteers and makes the lake's water never run dry.

Next to the water pavilion is the exhibition and preservation house for puppets. Visitors can see with their own eyes the products from the skillful hands of artisans. After visiting the craft village, visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy a water puppet show.

Tourists experience the water puppet making process and buy them as souvenirs.

Under the skillful hands of the people of Rach village, the puppet dances spring up from the water surface, lively as if breathed into life. The people of Rach village, who are used to working in low-lying areas, skillfully exploit the dynamic nature of water to help the puppets become more delicate, erasing the roughness of the wood, creating a jubilant and bustling puppet performance.

Like other puppet troupes, the puppetry of Rach village mainly recreates the agricultural activities and cultural life of the residents of the Northern Delta.

Images of plowing, raising animals, hunting, weaving or festival activities such as: book procession, buffalo fighting, swinging or games praising animist beliefs such as dragon dance, lion dance... are skillfully and skillfully recreated by artisans, creating an attraction for viewers.

Rach village puppet troupes currently have nearly 1,000 puppeteers performing more than 40 different plays. Rach village farmers and puppeteers have brought their ancestors' art out of the bamboo fences of the village, performing for National Assembly delegates; performing in France, Italy; performing to welcome the 9th National Party Congress at Ho Tay Water Park - Hanoi...

Over time, the water puppetry of Rach village seemed to have been lost. However, the strong vitality hidden in this art form was once again promoted by the people of Rach village with many plays being restored and improved, creating attractive performances such as: Le Loi uprising, Tran Hung Dao pacifying Nguyen, Trung Trac - Trung Nhi, riding fish to offer flowers, milling rice...

With the development of modern life, today, the Rach village water puppetry troupe is facing many opportunities and challenges in preserving and maintaining the traditional craft. Besides touring, the puppetry troupes have introduced and promoted the local culture to tourists. Many domestic and foreign delegations have come to Rach village to learn more about this art form.

Puppetry and income from puppetry are not only good news for the people of Rach village but also an opportunity for local craft village tourism. However, Rach village puppetry is at risk of not having the next generation to pass on the craft. Rach village has nearly 1,000 people but only about 40 people know how to puppet. These people are usually middle-aged or elderly.

Although today, the village’s secretive principles and non-admission of women have been abolished, instead, those who love and wish to learn puppetry are taught by the village artisans, but very few people really want to learn the craft. Young people in the village only join the puppet troupe when they cannot find a job. When they have a job with a higher income, they ask to leave the troupe.

In recent years, educational institutions in Nam Dinh province have coordinated with puppetry troupes in Rach village to implement a program to bring water puppetry into schools.

In 2023, the People's Committee of Hong Quang commune supported 200 million VND to renovate the water temple; at the same time, created all conditions to help puppet troupes participate in performances to serve the needs of people inside and outside the commune, helping to maintain long-standing cultural preservation activities.

Khanh Van

Labor and Social Affairs Newspaper No. 2

Source: https://dansinh.dantri.com.vn/nhan-luc/doc-dao-phuong-roi-nuoc-co-o-mien-bac-20250103101915787.htm