Various water puppets. Craig Chesek / AMNH

Performances by water puppets are a magical part of festival entertainment at the Chua Thay festival in northern Vietnam. Controlled by underwater strings or wires up to 30 feet long, or by shorter bamboo rods, the puppets seem to swim, transplant rice or dance on the very surface of the lake. A procession of these puppets, which echoes the pageantry of a human festival parade, introduces most performances. Some of the most astonishing shows occur at the Chua Thay festival, held to honor the 11th century monk Tu Dao Hanh, believed to have originated water puppetry.

The puppetry tradition occurs in provinces throughout the Red River Delta, where more than a dozen guilds of dedicated amateur puppeteers preserve the old techniques and stories, making these shows educational as well as entertaining.

"Water is the essential element of water puppetry. A liquid capable of reflecting light, water provides a stage on which illusions include changing reflections of the sky, clouds, trees and landscape." –Mr. Nguyen Huy Hong