Growing up in the countryside, the cradle of Northern water puppetry, Rach village (also known as Nam Chan, in Ban Thach hamlet, Hong Quang commune, Nam Truc district, Nam Dinh province), Mr. Trien was very familiar with the image of water puppets.
From a young age, he became familiar with making puppets, and over time he learned and followed the profession until now. He is one of the few people in the village who both performs puppetry and directly makes puppets.
According to Mr. Trien, the profession of carving water puppets is very different from the simple profession of carving statues. "Carving water puppets is not difficult, but not easy either. The important thing is that depending on each puppet, the craftsman needs to create its own soul, imbued with the folk culture of the region. Each water puppet often has a cheerful, humorous demeanor, close to the daily life of workers," Mr. Trien analyzed.
The raw material for carving water puppets is usually fig wood. This type of wood is light, durable, water-resistant and can be dried quickly. Based on the experience passed down from our ancestors for hundreds of years, the puppet product is completed through 3 stages: carving, painting and assembling the machine. The stage of shaping on wood (also known as carving) is the difficult and decisive stage in making a water puppet.
Mr. Trien added: "With puppets that have familiar shapes, I can make them very quickly. As for images that have regional imprints, I need to refer to their unique characteristics, even go to the field to visualize and sketch, and sculpt them again. After being sculpted, the puppets will be trimmed, polished and decorated with many different paint colors to enhance the lines and personality of each character. Sculpting puppets is difficult, making them move flexibly is even more difficult. To do that, the craftsman must calculate in detail when making parts and joints."
In addition to serving puppet troupes, Mr. Trien also makes puppets according to customers' requests. To date, he has made tens of thousands of puppets. Normally, a puppet costs between 100,000 and 1,000,000 VND, depending on the size.
Mr. Trien confided: "In Rach village now, there are not many people still making puppets. My biggest wish is being realized, which is to create a miniature puppet troupe. In the future, it will be a place to perform, display, and experience water puppetry in detail for tourists."
