Local Pre-Trip Adds Special Moments to Vietnam Tour

The Vietnam exhibit includes a map showing the country’s location and size (dark green) relative to its neighbors. The exhibit showcases  a Bowed Spiked Lute, a stringed instrument that is popular in the region.

I knew that our upcoming tour to Vietnam included seeing a water puppet show. The exhibit includes a video that shows clips from several different shows. According to the exhibit, performances are often accompanies by an ensemble playing traditional Vietnames instruments.

The Vietnam exhibit  includes several instruments made of bamboo, including the Stamping Tubes pictured here. The information panel notes that some of the instruments in the exhibit, including the Stamping Tubes, are played by ethnic groups that live in the mountainous highlands of central Vietnam. We would be visiting that area on our trip.

One of the types of instruments played by tribal grouops in the central highlands of Vietnam is the Mouth Organ. Perhaps, we would see one.

Early in the trip our group and  guide (in light shirt}, visited a village about 40 miles from Hanoi. We visited the home of the vice mayor (in brown jacket),  and his wife. Note the shrine behind our group that is used to pay homage to the family’s ancestors, e.g.  parents, grandparents, etc. With our guide translating, we learned that the vice mayor, now in his 70s,  had been drafted into the North Vietnamese army at age 16. He returned to his villlage 10 years later as a captain after serving on the Ho Chi Mihn Trail from Hanoi to Saigon – after which he was sent to Cambodia to fight the khmer rouge.

When we entered the home, I noticed a Bowed Spiked Lute hanging on the wall, similar to the one I had seen at the MIM. I asked about it. The vice mayor told us that the reason that he had survived the fighting in Cambodia is that he performed for a special group that entertained officers. At our group’s urging, he took down his lute and began playing. His face lit up and we all shared his obvious happiness. After listening to  several songs, we learned that he was responsible for the village’s cultural affairs. He also provided  music lessons to the village’s many children.

In Vietnam, water puppets like this one, are works of art. While in Hanoi, we visited a house that doubled as a family’s home and a venue for the performance and production of puppet shows. The father’s family has been involved in water puppetry for four generations. Water puppet performances are declining in popularity and this family has dedicated itself to preserving this Vietnamese traditon. The parents speak at schools and organization meetings and perform shows at their home. Houses in Hanoi are narrow, tall and small by our standards. The first floor of this home was used as an entry way, to park the family’s motor scooters and as a kitchen. The room on the second floor was used as a living room. The room on the third floor was used to produce and show water puppets produced by the family. The top floor contained the theater – a pool with about 30 seats for viewers. After sitting in the living room and being served tea and learning about the family and water puppetry, our group took the narrow stairs to the theater.

Following the performance, one of the puppeteers stood on the “stage;” i.e. water area where the puppets move about on the surface. The puppeteer is holding a dragon puppet used in the show. Up to two puppeteers sit waste deep in water on chairs behind the screen and use the long stick atttached to the puppet to move and control the puppet, which moves about in front of the screen without the audience seeing the puppeteer (s) and the control stick (s).  When the show was finished, I actually got the chance to be a puppeteer (from the side of the pool).

About a week later, we were in the Dalat region of Vietnam in the central highlands. It’s a beautiful place  that is known for growing flowers and coffee beans. As we were  finishing lunch, three musicians arrived and began setting up. They were Montagnard people, who live in the mountains to the west of the restaurant. One of the group played the Bass Mouth Organ shown here.

The group played several instruments that I had seen at the MIM, including this set of Stamping Tubes, gongs, and a flute. The performers had ridden to our location on their motor scooters. It is amazing how much stuff the Vietnamese people can carry on their scooters.