Traditional Water Puppet Show

We then crossed the road to watch a slightly weird water puppet show.

Water puppetry is making puppets appear to dance on water and is a tradition which originated in the villages of the Red River Delta area of northern Vietnam that dates back to the 11th century.
Today's Vietnamese water puppetry is a unique variation on the ancient Asian puppet tradition.

The puppets are made out of wood and then lacquered. The shows is performed in a waist-deep pool. A large bamboo rod supports the puppet under the water and is used by the puppeteers who are hidden behind a screen to control them making the puppets move over the water.

When the rice fields flooded the villagers would entertain each other using this form of puppet play.Read more