Puppetry in Vietnam and Thailand

A cover from Vietnam 🇻🇳 with the joint issue stamps of Vietnam 🇻🇳 and Thailand 🇹🇭 

Designers : painters Nguyen Du from Vietnam and Pisit Prasitthanadoon from Thailand.

Date of issue : 05-08-2016

Vietnam and Thailand jointly issued a set of commemorative stamps in capitals of Hanoi and Bangkok on August 5, 2016 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the two nations’ diplomatic ties (August 6, 1976).

The stamp set features the traditional puppetry of Vietnam and Thailand. 

The first stamp introduces the legend of Hoan Kiem Lake where Le Loi returned his magic sword to the Golden Turle after his forces defeated the Ming Chinese army in 1428. Hoan Kiem Lake is a fresh water lake, measuring some 12 ha in the historical center of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. According to the legend, in early 1428, Emperor Lê Lợi was boating on the lake when a Golden Turtle God (Kim Qui) surfaced and asked for his magic sword, Heaven's Will. Lợi concluded that Kim Qui had come to reclaim the sword that its master, a local God, the Dragon King (Long Vương) had given Lợi some time earlier, during his revolt against Ming China. Later, the Emperor gave the sword back to the turtle after he finished fighting off the Chinese. Emperor Lợi renamed the lake to commemorate this event, from its former name Luc Thuy meaning "Green Water". The Turtle Tower (Tháp Rùa) standing on a small island near the centre of lake is linked to the legend. 

The second features Thailand’s folk puppet play, Hun Krabrok, by King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Traditional Thai puppets or Hun krabok are one type of performing art in Thailand. It originated in the reign of King Rama V(Chulalongkorn) with its original form being influenced by Hainan puppetry (Chinese puppet theatre).

Hun Kra Bok is a half-bodied puppet with the important parts being as follows:

The puppet’s head – represents the different roles such as the hero, the heroine, the monkey, the demon, the joker, and the animal.

The puppet’s hand – The heroine has both hands in the Tang Wong Ram gesture, each hand is attached to a stick, called Mai Takiap, for controlling the hand gesture. While about the hero, the demon and the joker, their right hand is a clenched fist motion for holding a weapon, and in their left hand is in the Tang Wong Ram hand gesture.

The puppet’s body – Its body is made from bamboo or other material.

The puppet’s shoulders – Its shoulders are made from wood or other material.

The puppet’s clothes – Its costume is like a sack covering from its shoulders to its half-bodied length. Furthermore there is ornate embroidery work for each puppet, which will be different according to its role. 

Thanks Do Quoc Minh for the beautiful cover with such clear postmarks :) and for another cover too !