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Traces of land puppetry on the land of Te Tieu
Puppetry in Vietnam is closely linked to agricultural life, serving as a medium through which farmers express their love for life, their country, and its people, reflecting their aspirations for prosperity and their belief in goodness. While water puppetry is familiar to many, dry puppetry, though less well-known, has quietly existed for hundreds of years.
The land of Te Tieu (My Duc, Hanoi) has a long history, being a place where ancient Vietnamese people settled early, cultivating fields and forming rich community cultural activities. According to the elders, dry puppetry has been present in Te Tieu for more than 400 years.
Locals recount that in 1573 (during the Hung Phuc era), Mr. Tran Trieu Dong came here to clear land, establish a village, and create and pass on dry puppetry to the community. Since then, puppetry has taken root here, becoming a spiritual pastime for the people. Te Tieu dry puppetry has gone through many ups and downs. War and displacement once threatened to extinguish dry puppetry, but from 1956–1960, this art form was restored and developed strongly.
Village life depicted through various folk games.
Since 1956, the Te Tieu puppet troupe, a traditional village puppetry group, has officially been established. To date, the troupe preserves over 100 stories and thousands of puppets, with approximately 20 members. According to many artisans, in the past, puppetry existed naturally, linked to the rhythm of the seasons. Puppet performances did not require elaborate stages. After the harvest season, during the agricultural off-season, villagers would gather in the village square.
The puppet show attracted audiences of all ages.
Before electricity, oil lamps were enough for people to gather together, attentively following the stories told on stage. The performers didn't make a living from performing; they were mostly farmers. They tilled the fields by day and stood in the performance booth behind the curtain at night. Therefore, Te Tieu puppet theater is deeply communal in nature.
The puppet shows of Te Tieu draw material from real life, historical figures, customs, and beliefs. These include scenes of agricultural labor such as plowing, planting rice, milling rice, and harvesting betel nuts.
A theatrical performance that recreates familiar agricultural activities of people in the delta region.
In addition, there are historical stories such as Saint Gióng defeating the An invaders and Lý Công Uẩn moving the capital. Scenes of festival life, beliefs, and customs such as fruit-picking contests, swinging, palanquin processions, wrestling, etc. The puppet shows incorporate moral lessons and condemn social evils and bad habits, leaving viewers with much to ponder.
Over the centuries, the form of puppet theater has changed; today's audience may be tourists from all over the world, and the performance venue may be a tourist area, but that spirit of community remains intact.
"Easy yet difficult" - the art of preserving the soul of puppets.
Te Tieu puppet theater is a synthesis of puppet making, stage design, puppet control, singing, dialogue, and music. Furthermore, many of the stories are adapted from traditional Vietnamese folk theater forms such as Cheo, Tuong, Quan Ho, and Hat Van, creating a diverse yet incredibly accessible stage. The puppet making process involves many consecutive steps, requiring meticulous attention to detail. First and foremost is the preparation of materials, selecting suitable wood, primarily fig and jackfruit wood.
The puppet show requires precise choreography and expressive body language.
Next, artisans sculpt and carve the parts of the puppets according to each character. After completing the sculpting, the parts and the control rod system are assembled. The next step involves painting, drawing, and artistic decoration to complete the appearance, expression, and unique characteristics of each character. Once the sculpting is complete, the puppets are dressed in costumes and made final adjustments before being used on stage.
Dry puppetry is both "easy and difficult." It's easy because, unlike water puppetry, the stage for dry puppetry only requires a backdrop and a tent to be erected, allowing performances anywhere. The difficulty lies in the fact that Te Tieu puppetry often performs plays based on traditional opera – a clear difference from other dry puppetry troupes that specialize in performing classical folk opera.
A puppeteer manipulates a puppeteer behind a curtain during a performance.
Puppet theater is a very difficult form of performance, emphasizing dance, especially the footwork of the characters. Each character's movements are unique. Furthermore, all the gestures and "body language" of the puppets are fully visible to the audience, unlike water puppetry which is partially obscured. Therefore, mastering this art requires many years of practice. Most challenging are the movements that express inner emotions such as fear, joy, and sadness. These movements give the puppets their "soul." This requires not only dexterity of the hands and feet but also empathy for each story and character.
An equally important element is music and dialogue. Depending on the performance, the artist will have to perform songs in different genres, from folk songs, spoken songs, and recited songs to traditional opera, folk theater, and Quan Ho singing.
To date, Te Tieu puppetry – with nearly 100 performances and thousands of puppets – has transcended its local community, reaching major festivals in Hanoi, participating in international festivals held at the Vietnam National Museum of Ethnology, craft village tourism exhibitions, and Hue Festivals… winning both awards and the affection of audiences both domestically and internationally.
Among nearly 100 performances, more than 20 are traditional Vietnamese puppet plays passed down from our ancestors, such as: "The Execution of the General" from the play "Son Hau," "Thoat Hoan Crawling Through a Copper Pipe," "Thach Sanh Slaying the Python," "Thanh Giong Defeating the An Invaders," etc. Besides traditional Vietnamese puppet plays, the Te Tieu puppet troupe also performs <i>cheo</i> (traditional Vietnamese folk opera), <i>ve</i> (traditional Vietnamese folk songs), <i>vi</i> (traditional Vietnamese folk songs), and plays; contemporary works reflecting the realities of current social life. The performances are often cheerful, witty, and lyrical, creating a captivating appeal for the audience.
With its enduring vitality and unique characteristics, in 2020, Te Tieu puppet theater was included in the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
