Hanoi • Water Puppet Demonstration

Water puppet demonstration
We set off to a local home where we will meet a water puppet master. After watching traditional water puppets in action during a private show, we’ll enjoy a hands-on demonstration on how to manipulate the puppets to make them move—an
O.A.T.-exclusive experience. Then, our small
group size gives us the unique opportunity to
learn how these intricate puppets are made.
In Vietnam, the art form of water puppetry
continues to thrive at least 1,000 years after
it originated with peasants in the Red River
Delta of the north. Puppets are suspended over
water and directed by puppet masters who
must sit, semi-submerged, for hours at a time.
The French used to call these puppets “the
souls of the Vietnamese rice fields”—made
of lacquered, water-resistant fig wood, they
depict villagers, farm animals, dragons,
and more.

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