Land Puppetry of Bao Ha village: The Essence of Statue Carving

Abstract

Land puppetry and statue carving contributes to famous, long-standing traditional crafts in Bao Ha village, Dong Minh commune, Vinh Bao district, Hai Phong city. The uniqueness of Bao Ha village’s land puppetry lies in the fact that the puppets are shaped and carved delicately in a realistic style, highlighting the character’s personality. When performing, the artisan controls sticks attached inside the puppet’s hand to express the puppet’s natural, lively and attractive movements. The paper introduces the formation history of Bao Ha village’s land puppetry and explains the factors that create characteristics in the art of creating and controlling puppets based on the craft of sculpture.