Doll-A-Day 2017 #115: Vietnamese Water Puppets

  Today's dolls are these Vietnamese Water Puppets.

They're about 6 1/2" tall.

The art of  múa rối nước,or Water Puppetry dates back to 11th century Vietnam. When the rice fields flooded, the farmers would entertain each other with Water Puppetry. Today, Water Puppetry is performed in waist deep water using bamboo rods and string mechanisms, which are operated by puppeteers from behind a screen which is behind the water 'stage'.

 The puppets are made of lacquered wood. Themes of the shows are life in rural Vietnam,and often reference Vietnamese folklore. Most common subjects are the rice harvest, fishing, and festivals.

These water puppets have some moving parts,which are operated by their strings.

This lady has a string coming out of the base.

The other lady has a string in her...umm...bottom.

Her little hat can't actually go on her head, by the way. The string is too short.

The strings operate their arms.

Here is this lady with her arms raised by pulling the string.

She might be a water fairy.

When this lady's string is pulled she raises her basket.

She might be fishing, or gathering rice.

You can watch some water puppetry HERE. There's even a puppet with a basket, just like one of mine.
A good page to read about Water Puppetry is HERE. Another good page on Water Puppetry can be found  HERE.
  See you tomorrow for another doll.