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October 2003 Newsletter |
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Water gently courses you through this October edition of VietnamArtGallery.com, with October being the tail end of the rainy season throughout most of Vietnam. Those who don't mind a little rain can save plenty both in the air and on the ground if travelling to Vietnam at this time, but maybe instead view our paintings and choose a piece of paradise to ship to you — without having to get your feet wet! Water is a defining element in Vietnam and in Vietnamese culture. The word for water in Vietnamese, 'nuoc', also means country or nation. Water is seen in Vietnam as a source of good luck and it is the backdrop for many Vietnamese stories and folklore, many of these conveyed within the ancient Vietnamese art of water puppetry. Water is a fundamental element of rural life everywhere. So from the team at Vietnam Art Gallery —
happy October, and may good luck and (if you're in Vietnam) a sturdy umbrella be your constant companions
this month. =============== CONTENTS ===============
======= Water Worship Marks Ebb and Flow of Life ======= For Vietnamese, water represents people's wish for a bumper crop, a successful agricultural cycle, a wealthy life, health and happiness. Perhaps this is why it is at the heart of so many important Vietnamese festivals. The rich spiritual life of the Vietnamese is a marriage of indigenous faiths and imported religions. Vietnamese festivals reflecting distinct folk beliefs have become an inseparable part of the fabric of life. As in many agrarian societies, festivals have evolved organically out of the cycles of the agricultural economy: crops and harvests. Though the festivals in each locality differ, there is one common element: the practice of praying for water, the most important element of agricultural production. To survive in a tropical region with its torrential rains, abundant rivers, streams, ponds and lakes and rich flora, the Vietnamese promoted the importance of living in harmony with nature. Farmers put the highest value on water and often say: nhat nuoc, nhi phan, tam can, tu giong (water comes first, then fertilizer, hard work and good breeding). And just as water is the lifeblood of agriculture, it is also the well from which many cultural rituals spring. The prayer for water is always the most important ceremony of an agrarian festival. The gods of the water canal and the water dam are the subjects of worship. Praying for water is linked to the hope for multiplication and development of the crops at the start of the production cycle. Farmers look forward to the first sounds of thunderstorms and rains, an auspicious sign of a bumper crop. Sometimes they will strike their drums and light firecrackers, emulating sounds of thunder and urging people to start agricultural activities. In Dong Ky village, Bac Ninh Province, the new lunar year begins with the famous firecracker festival during which villagers compete to make the largest, noisiest firecrackers. The Thai people of Muong La District (Son La Province) welcome the year's first thunder by praying for a good harvet. If, after the ceremony, still no rain has arrived, they are encouraged to tease heaven so the Gods will provide rains out of anger. They hang small gongs on cattle's necks and make thunder-like sounds, hoping Heaven will accomodate them by pouring down water upon them. Early in the morning, people wake and strike rice containers to wake the soul of the paddy. A pole which resembles a rice stalk is erected at the door and people go out to the stream to fetch water. The female of the house will make an offering of sticky rice, and then everyone moves out to the river to pray to ancestors, and kitchen gods and for rain. In Mai Chau, the Thai inhabitants also organise a prayer for rain. During the 3rd and 4th lunar months, under threat of drought, young men and women of the village join in ceremony. Dressed in their best costumes, they make a procession, singing songs wishing for the rain and moving to an elder's home. The village elders greet them there, throwing water on the young people until they are fully wet. Then an old woman carries a tray of rice and money onto which people pour water, praying for the rain. The Trieng call for rain in a rather strange way: everyone in a village will move out into a field and yell out the strongest swear words they can think of to make the gods angry, causing them to throw down the rains on them.
====== Our artist of the month: Nguyen Duy Nhi ===== Nguyen Duy Nhi is one of Vietnam's most prolific and talented young artists. His use of colour makes the viewer's eyes hum with delight at entering his playful world of stylized imagery.  Nguyen Duy Nhi - Unnamed - $130
Nguyen Duy Nhi - Unnamed - $130 Click to see more paintings by this artist. ======= Vietnam's Water Puppets Make Waves =======
In Vietnam the art of water puppetry is centuries old and still much-loved. Traditionally, the puppeteers stand in a pond, operating hand-carved and painted wooden puppets by rod and wire, from behind a bamboo screen. The Hanoi National water puppet troupe has won international prizes, while in the provinces, local performances are popular in villages and towns. In the northern province of Hai Dzuong, puppeteers have been experimenting with new plays, moving away from the classical repertoire of stories which reflect rural life such as water buffalo fighting, catching frogs and rice farming. Now, they are using an old art to educate other villagers about modern themes.
The Hong Phong puppet troupe has taken a traditional story called The Frog Sues Heaven, and given it a modern twist. Using the cover of a dark and stormy night, a thief sneaks into a Buddhist pagoda and steals antique statues, aiming to sell them to overseas buyers. As morning breaks, the villagers and the local animals discover their loss and argue about how to recover the statue. A meeting of frogs, crabs, and tortoises resolves to ask the gods, and Tao Quan, the kitchen god, is asked to seek help from the Jade King of Heaven. Important objectives The plays are achieving two important objectives for Vietnamese people. They educate villagers about the need to value and preserve their heritage and - as this play does - they teach them about the law. Most of the puppet troupe from Hai Dzuong province are farmers and when they are not practising their puppetry, they are growing rice in the fields. One of them, Ngo Van Thanh, lifts himself out of the water and sits dripping on a narrow bamboo bridge. He said his village had a problem of thefts of antiquities a few years ago. Now the villagers have improved security and stopped the problem.
Reinvigorating a tradition The art of puppet making and performing in Mr Thanh's village of Bo Dzuong dates back to the 17th century and these performances are reinvigorating the tradition. This performance is being held at Hanoi's Museum of Ethnology where director Nguyen Van Huy is keen to preserve the tradition by encouraging villagers to write new plays and perform them more often. "Normally water puppet troupes perform two or three times a year at village festivals, then the performers go back to farming," he said. "But if they perform here at the museum, they can have regular shows and this helps them preserve their art... and the individual identity of each troupe." The development of the troupes' ideas is a matter of trial and error. They grapple with attracting audiences and teaching young performers and puppet-carvers, as well as the problems of ageing puppeteers standing for long periods waist-deep in cold water. One of the scriptwriters, Ngo Gia Tuyen, said: "We have to make the most of the abilities local people have. "So we get farmers to sing folk songs and play traditional instruments." In the play, it is the villagers who finally catch the thief. And after a quick trial, it is Article 272 of the Criminal Code which sends him to jail for three years. Soon the puppeteers will go home to work on their next performance. They have been working on plays about the importance of planting trees and the correct use of pesticides. But for now, there is time to enjoy a traditional celebration - a puppet lion dance and a puppet wrestling match. By Clare Arthurs - BBC Hanoi correspondent ========= Featured Pieces =========  Hoang Giap - "Love 5" - $250 - more >> The serene calmness of Nguyen Nguyen's being combined with a magic realist style shines through in the expressive beauty of his art, as seen here in "The Music." Nguyen Nguyen - "The Music" - $850 - more >> ============== Artist Roster ============== Our database of up-and-coming artists has doubled in the last few months and we now have over 750 original art pieces in our
database -- one of the largest virtual galleries on the Internet! Here's a rundown on the artists you'll find in our pages.
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