Electric puppet artist in Xuan An parish

Passion leads the way

On the eve of the Lunar New Year of Quy Mao 2023, in the lingering scent of incense on a cold day, visiting the house of old farmer Ho Van Than (63 years old) in hamlet 7, Quynh Xuan ward (Hoang Mai town), we saw him diligently and meticulously cleaning electric puppets of all colors and shapes.

"I'm well prepared to perform to serve everyone during Tet and welcome Spring, miss", he said happily, then stopped to chat with us over a pot of hot green tea.

Old farmer Ho Van Than and his grandson with the electric puppets. Photo: Khanh Ly

Old farmer Ho Van Than smiled kindly, then enthusiastically "got into" the story. Since childhood, every time he had the opportunity to go see a puppet show, he had a special love for the art of puppetry.

But it wasn’t until he reached adulthood, when the locality established the Dong Que Puppetry Troupe, that he really got involved with this art form. At that time, practicing was very difficult, 15 puppets had to be operated by 15 people, very cumbersome. Every time he and his puppet troupe performed, they often had to carry a lot of cumbersome equipment.

After a few years, for many reasons, the puppet troupe gradually disbanded, but Mr. Than still had a burning desire for the puppets. He struggled with the question of how to reduce costs and human resources while still making the performances lively and attractive. At first, he experimented with carving, carving wood, cutting foam, painting and shaping the puppets himself, then gradually researched and discovered the principle of using electric motors so that the lifeless puppets could move, coordinate rhythmically according to the script idea and match the music vividly.

Mr. Ho Van Than repairs an electric puppet set to serve the Tet and Spring celebrations. Photo: Khanh Ly

Only having finished 7th grade, but thanks to his talent, love and passion, the old farmer of Xuan An parish, Ho Van Than, has created vivid, beautiful, "one-of-a-kind" electric puppets from scrap materials and available items. He also worked hard to find old electric motors and items from scrap metal shops to make frames, musical instruments, and shapes for the characters.

After several failures, he finally succeeded with electric puppets. At first, it was just a few puppets with simple movements, gradually upgrading to a puppet group of 10-15 puppets, with lively and attractive scenes.

Just plug in the power, turn on the switch, the electric puppets automatically dance to the music like real actors performing without the need for a conductor, receiving the applause and delight of the people. That has given old farmer Ho Van Than more motivation, taking advantage of his free time or rainy weather to spend time creating puppets with many different scenes, satisfying his passion.

Some of Mr. Ho Van Than's electric puppet works. Photo: Khanh Ly

Every time he listens to a piece of music or watches an impressive and attractive movie or play, Mr. Than remembers it, then uses his talented, skillful hands and rich imagination to transform inanimate objects into characters in scenes that bear the mark of life. These are Thai girls dancing the xoè dance; Mong boys playing the flute on festival days; Central Highlands girls playing the T'rung instrument; women and mothers milling rice, measuring rice, dancing on bamboo poles, singing then. Or simply farmers plowing, country women making rice cakes...

He especially loves and often incorporates folk melodies such as Nghe Tinh folk songs, Bac Ninh folk songs, and Tay Bac love songs into his puppet troupe. Or when watching good movies like “Vu Dai Village of the Past”, Mr. Than also creates puppet scenes of Chi Pheo and Thi No that are loved by many people.

Old farmer Ho Van Than enthusiastically talks about his passion for electric puppets. Photo: Khanh Ly

Currently, Mr. Ho Van Than's collection includes about 15 sets of electric puppets, with hundreds of characters. To create works that are loved and highly appreciated, he had to spend months diligently researching, exploiting the appearance, gestures, and expressions of each character, then creating the shape. The most difficult and time-consuming step is to make sure that each movement of each character is rhythmic, synchronized, and in sync with the music.

Therefore, in addition to the main motor shaft, he had to use many auxiliary motors and gear shafts to regulate the speed of each character. Luckily, his daughter is very skillful, so she often helps her father sew costumes for the puppets to suit the content of the scenes. Mr. Than's son - who is the Secretary of the Youth Union of Hamlet 7, Quynh Xuan Ward, also often supports his father in finding materials or helping to transport the puppets to performances.

Old farmer Ho Van Than with the puppet show Chi Pheo - Thi No. Photo: Khanh Ly

“Although I only perform for fun, I always try to create many puppet shows with many scenes suitable for music for each audience (women, the elderly, children or youth music for teenagers) to be able to serve audiences of different ages,” Mr. Than happily said.

Struggling with traditional art

Initially, the electric puppet troupes of old farmer Ho Van Than mainly performed for entertainment at local festivals, ward anniversary celebrations, children's camps, and Christmas.

Then his reputation spread far and wide, many people affectionately called the old farmer Ho Van Than "Countryside Puppeteer" and he was invited to perform by many organizations and individuals inside and outside Hoang Mai town, and was invited by Vietnam Television Station VTV1 to make programs.

Mr. Ho Van Than introduces electric puppets at Nghe An Museum. Photo: Duc Anh

There were even puppeteers in Hue who came to visit and buy puppet sets such as: Countryside, Rice Grinding, Northwest Love Song, Central Highlands Love Song, Bac Ninh Quan Ho from Mr. Than. However, this old farmer from Xuan An parish was still very humble, he said he was just a country puppeteer, contributing to the people's entertainment.

Electric puppet works by Mr. Ho Van Than are introduced at Nghe An Museum. Photo: Duc Anh

Born and raised in the village, the main job of old farmer Ho Van Than is still farming. Now his children are all grown up and have families, but he still works hard and is attached to the fields. In addition to 6 sao of rice, he also built a farm to raise goats, grass carp, raise shrimp in between crops, and raise hundreds of chickens and ducks... "Not rich, but it helps me nurture my passion for puppetry," said Mr. Than.

An electric puppet show created by Mr. Ho Van Than to serve children. Photo: Duc Anh

Having said that, he still devotes much thought to the traditional art form, always researching and upgrading the puppetry to make it more vivid and attractive, and incorporating traditional music into the scenes.

On the occasion of Mid-Autumn Festival, when he was invited by Nghe An Museum to perform in the "Electric Puppetry" experience program for children, or invited by the local Youth Union to participate in serving children's summer camp, he happily accepted, because he wanted to help the younger generation understand more about the cultural values ​​of the nation.

Children were engrossed in watching the electric puppet show performed by Mr. Ho Van Than at Nghe An Museum. Photo: Duc Anh

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thu - Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Quynh Xuan Ward (Hoang Mai Town) said: Mr. Ho Van Than is a Catholic who lives a "good life, good religion". The electric puppetry products he creates not only satisfy his personal passion but also bring unique spiritual food to local people, especially during the New Year and Spring, contributing to preserving and conserving the traditional art form with strong national identity from the risk of being lost and forgotten...

Khanh Ly