Water Puppets Theatre at Dao Thuc. ORIGINS North Vietnam is a country that depends on its water for survival. Rivers, lakes, and ponds are an integral part of the environment and much of the agriculture is dependent on the flooding of the rice paddies. About eighty percent of the population of Vietnam live in rural areas and just over fifty percent are involved in photos by the author Mua Roi Nuoc is the art of Vietnamese water puppetry. Literally, Mua means dance, roi means puppetry, and Nuoc is the word for water; therefore, puppets that dance on water. This type of puppetry in which both the puppets and the puppeteers are in the water is unique to the Red River Delta area of Northern Vietnam. Working in the rice fields of Viet Nam. S P R I N G 2008 theatre design & technology 49