Vietnamese mythology


Vietnamese mythology


Vietnamese mythology (Vietnamese: Thần thoại Việt Nam 神話越南) comprises folklore, national myths, legends, or fairy tales from the Vietnamese people with aspects of folk religion in Vietnam. Vietnamese folklore and oral traditions may have also been influenced by historical contact with neighbouring Tai-speaking populations, other Austroasiatic-speaking peoples, as well as with people from the region now known as Greater China.

Myth of national origin

The mythology of the ethnic Vietnamese people (the Việt, 越) has been transferred through oral traditions and in writing. The story of Lạc Long Quân (雒龍君) and Âu Cơ (嫗姬) has been cited as the common creation myth of the Vietnamese people. The story details how two progenitors, the man known as the Lạc Long Quân and the woman known as the Âu Cơ, gave birth to a "hundred eggs, fifty of which hatched, settled on land and eventually became the Vietnamese people".

However, the story, dubbed Con rồng cháu tiên (昆蠬𡥙仙 "Descendants of the Dragon and the Immortal"), is labeled as a truyền thuyết ("legend", 傳說), a "type of folkloric tale about historical characters and events, usually embellished with fantastical elements," and is more akin to other fantastical legends, such as the story of Lê Lợi (黎利) discovering a mythical sword from a magical turtle.

Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư (大越史記全書, Complete Annals of Đại Việt) proposed more details on the origins of the two progenitors, for example on how Lạc Long Quân was the son of Kinh Dương Vương (涇陽王), who was in turn descended from the Viêm Đế or Yan Emperor (炎帝)/Thần Nông or Shennong (神農).

Additionally, Ngô Sĩ Liên (吳士連), the author of the text, cited elements from Lĩnh Nam chích quái. Thần Nông and their descendants leading to Kinh Dương Vương, Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ, and even commented on the potential familial bond between this couple (Lạc's father Kinh Dương Vương and Âu's grandfather Đế Nghi were brothers, both of Thần Nông descent).

Creation myths

Thần Trụ Trời

The myth of Thần Trụ Trời tells that when the world was just a dark and chaotic area, a god with extraordinary appearance and strength appeared. God raised his head to the sky, dug the earth himself, and smashed rocks to form a pillar to support the sky. The work went on like this, and soon heaven and earth were divided. When the sky was high and dry, the god broke the pillars and threw rocks and stones everywhere, turning them into mountains, islands, high hills, and wide seas. So today, the ground is not flat.

Popular heroes and gods

Figures in Vietnamese mythology include The Four Immortals: the giant boy Thánh Gióng, mountain god Tản Viên Sơn Thánh, Chử Đồng Tử marsh boy, princess Liễu Hạnh.

One of the Four Immortals also reemerges in the fighting between Sơn Tinh and Thủy Tinh ("the god of the mountain and the god of the Water"). Historical legend occurs in the story of the Thuận Thiên ("Heaven's Will") magical sword of Emperor Lê Lợi.

Folk mythology includes figures such as the mười hai bà mụ "Twelve Midwives", twelve goddesses who teach one-month-old babies skills such as sucking and smiling.

Popular myths, legends and stories

A list of some popular fairy tales or Vietnamese myths and legends includes but is not limited to:

  • Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ (The Vietnamese creation origin myth)
  • The legend of Son Tinh and Thuy Tinh (Mountain God and Water God)
  • The betrayal of An Dương Vương
  • Hoan Kiem Lake – Le Loi and the Magical Sword
  • Ông Táo – the Kitchen Gods
  • The origins of bánh chưng - the story of Lang Lieu
  • Four Elements – the Turtle, the Dragon, the Unicorn and the Phoenix

King of the gods

The king of the gods in Vietnamese mythology is Ông Trời (翁𡗶 "God of heaven"), then due to the influence of China, he was identified with Jade Emperor so he was also called Ngọc Hoàng Thượng Đế (玉皇上帝), commonly referred to as Ngọc Hoàng (玉皇).

See also

East Asia

  • Chinese creation myths, Chinese mythology
  • Japanese creation myth, Japanese mythology
  • Korean creation narratives, Korean mythology

Southeast Asia/East Asia

  • Tai-speakers: Zhuang people, Tày people, Nung people, Dai people, etc.
  • Austroasiatic-speakers: Muong people, Thổ people, etc.

References

Further reading

  • Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan | Alex Wade (Reviewing editor) (2020). "Vietnamese religion, folklore and literature: Archetypal journeys from folktales to medieval fantasy short stories". In: Cogent Arts & Humanities, 7:1. doi:10.1080/23311983.2020.1847769.

Text submitted to CC-BY-SA license. Source: Vietnamese mythology by Wikipedia (Historical)



 
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