Vietnamese Mythical Creatures

I've just spent eleven days in Vietnam.

It has been quite frankly amazing.

(Ha Long Bay, very nice!) 

Vietnam has an incredibly rich history, which I will leave to you to read about - but also a richly symbolic culture filled with fascinating mythology.

 

Vietnam has what our tour guide referred to as "Four Lucky Animals", also know as "Saintly Beasts" these are:

The Dragon - Long

 

The dragon holds an important place in many world mythologies, no less so than in Vietnam. The stunning Ha Long Bay named after the Dragon, who came down and created  3000 islands that make up the bay, as a way to protect Vietnam from invaders.

 

Many things in Vietnam are symbolic. The dragon in particular symbolizes nobility and power. The mythological beast is immortal, and can be associated with the elements, air, water, earth, fire.

 

Like the Chinese style dragon, the Vietnamese dragon is often depicted with deer horns, serpentine neck, eagle-like claws, belly of a crocodile, scales like a fish, and hair.

 

The Vietnamese creation myth is also centered around the dragon.

 

 Lac Long Quan, the son of a mountain god and a water dragon, was given the land of Lac Viet by his parents. He built two palaces, one in the mountains and one in the ocean. Later he fell in love with a beautiful fairy, Au Co, and transformed himself into a handsome young man to win her over. They married, and a year later, she laid a hundred eggs that hatched into human babies that quickly matured into adults.

Unfortunately, Lac Long Quan remained in his water palace while Au Co lived on land. She became lonely and pined for her homeland, so much so that she took her hundred children to visit it. It became obvious that the couple should separate. They agreed that half the children would go with their father to the land next to the ocean, and the others would follow their mother to the mountains, thus creating the Vietnamese race – the dragon and the fairy’s grandchildren. [http://www.haivenu-vietnam.com/vietnam-culture-myths.htm]



 

The Unicorn - Lân
 

I know what you're thinking - that looks nothing like a unicorn! Just so, the Vietnamese Unicorn, (also known as the Kylan) looks nothing like the Western mythological beast of the same name.

 

Unsurprisingly the unicorn's appearance can vary and they are often a hybrid-creature comprised of a multitude of other animals.

Description 1: The feet and horn of a deer, the ears of a dog, the forehead of a camel, the eyes of an eagle, the nose of a lion, the mouth of a crocodile, the body of a horse, and the tail of a bull.

Description 2:  a musk deer with huge horns, devil's a tiger's mouth, a catfish's moustache, fishlike fins on its body, and a bull's rail and hooves.
Description 3: The head of a dragon and the body of horse.

In Asia, this creature is believed to be an auspicious animal that bring luck, joy and longevity. It also represents compassion, benevolence righteousness. The Kylan never steps on grass or on insects and never drinks dirty water.

 

The Turtle -  Quy
 



 

The turtle symbolizes freedom and independence to the Vietnamese people, and are said to be good luck.

 The legend of King Le Loi, who is said to have defeated Chinese invaders with a magic sword given to him by the gods.

After the victory, the king was said to have been in a boat on the lake when a giant golden turtle made its way to the surface and took the sword and plunged back into the depths, keeping the weapon for when Vietnam needed it to fight for its freedom again.

[http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/mission-to-save-the-rare-turtle-of-vietnamese-myth-and-legend-2236215.html]

The lake referred to in this myth is Hoan Kiem, a lake in the old quarter of Hanoi, north Vietnam. True to the myth, inside the lake lives an enormous soft shelled Red River Turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) 2 m in length weighing 200 kg. Some Vietnamese believe this ancient turtle is the one mentioned in the myth.

"The Vietnamese believe the turtle is a guardian of a magical sword, Thuan Thiên, or Will of Heaven," said Dana Healy, a Vietnam expert at University of London's School of African and Oriental Studies. "Hence the name of the lake in the middle of Hanoi, the Lake of Returned Sword, or Hoan Kiem."[http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/mission-to-save-the-rare-turtle-of-vietnamese-myth-and-legend-2236215.html]

I spent some time walking around Hoan Kiem lake trying to spot Cu Rua (Grandfather Turtle) with no luck. In 2011, the ailing Cu Rua was captured and treated with antiboitics before being released back into the lake. There is apparently only four giant softshelled turtles left in existance (Cu Rua, two in China, and another in Hanoi). So this marvellous creature is on the brink of extinction. I sincerely hope that Cu Rua lives on, and that the environs around Hoan Kiem are kept toxin and trash free.

Interestingly however, turtle meat is a very popular in Vietnamese cuisine, so despite the auspicious nature of the turtle, a number of Vietnamese turtle species are threatened by hunting.

 

 

The Phoenix -  Phượng

 

Vietnamese Phoung was often used as an emblem for queens. Richly symbolic it symbolises grace, pride, and nobility.

The Vietnamese Phoung described as an immense bird whose song made up the five basic tones of the traditional music scale. It is also a hybrid animal - a veritable mishmash of animals that may include tortoises and fish. The Phoenix can fly over incredible distances at lightning speed and will only take its rest in super tall trees or mountain tops.

 

Unlike the Western phoenix myths, the Phoung are truly immortal. They are not reborn from their own ashes.  Like the western phoenix they do however represent longevity, renewal and most importantly hope.

Some others...

 

Naturally there are many more mythological creatures in Vietnam than just these four... here are a few;

Xương Cuồng - Demon
In Phong Châu (the capital of the legendary Hùng dynasty), there once was a huge old tree. Its branches allegedly cast shade thousands of miles from its root.  When the tree aged and died, its spirit turned malicious  - taking delight in harming people. This spirit or demon is known as Xương Cuồng.

People made a concerted effort to rid the world of this particular demon. The legendary king Kinh Dương battled Xương Cuồng, and  forced the demon to flee. However, since Xương Cuồng was also a shifter, and possessed the power to transform, he hid himself and continued causing havoc. To appease the demon, the people decided that on the last day of each year, one human life was to be sacrificed to calm the demon.

Times change however, and human sacrifice became illegal under the governance of a man named Nhâm Ngao. He forbid the locals from practicing human sacrifice. Unable to appease the demon with human flesh, the demon's behaviour worsened.Xương Cuồng killed Nhâm Ngao soon after.

Finally, under the reign of emperor Đinh Tiên Hoàng, there was a famous shaman named Dũ Văn Mậu. He and his followers disguised themselves and lured the evil spirit away to kill it. [http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=277707]

Hồ tinh (Nine tailed fox) 
This is reminiscent of the Japanese Kitsune.
Where modern day Hanoi sits, there once was a fox spirit who inhabited a mountain. It was a shape-shifter and used its intelligence to trick people and lure them to come to it. Once away from other people, the Ho tinh would eat its victim.

Lạc Long Quân together with his army fought and and killed fox. Not satisfied with the creatures destruction he continued and destroyed its den. At this site he dug a pond, called Fox Corpse pond (Thi Hồ Trạch) - which is now West lake (Hồ Tây). He then built a temple to suppress the fox's resentment.

Ngư tinh (Demon Fish)
In the ocean  there once lived a gargantuan marine demon. Described as being at least 150m long with hundreds of legs. This beast devoured fishermen and boats.  It was also a shifter, able to transform into a human to lure unwary fishermen to their grisly deaths.

The hero, Lạc Long Quân decided that this such an abhorrent creature should not live and went in search of it. He found it's lair and as just as the demon was about to devour him, Lạc Long hurled a large hot iron pole into its mouth. It fought against him wildly, but Lạc Long decapitated it and chopped off its tail. The tail turned into Bạch Long Vỹ island. Its head transformed into a dog and ran away. Lạc Long then caught the dog and also killed it which became Mt Cẩu đầu.   



 

 Of course there are many more fascinating mythological beasties in Vietnamese legend, but I'll leave it here today. Click on the links if you're interested in reading more. 

 

Enjoy your weekend.

 

 



Mythical and Magical Birds

Birds - their flight, grace and beauty have captivated the human imagination since time immemorial.

Thus it is of no surprise that there are literally hundreds of bird-like creatures scattered through mists of mythology and legend.

Thanks to the wonderful Harry Potter series, Fawks the Phoenix is probably the most well known of the mythological birds. If you want to read the myths about the Phoenix click here, as I have a greater interest in the lesser known mythological beasts and for today's post will focus on them.

Due to time constraints, I couldn't possibly list all those that spark my interest and write detailed "Beastly Facts" on them , so I am going to introduce to a three of my favourites.

1. The Roc,

[Image: Link]

Beastly Facts

Name: Roc / Roc Bird / Rukh

Origin: Middle Eastern / Arabic / Persian

Creep Factor: 2/10

Religious Affiliation: Islam

Deadly Rating: 8/10

Cryptid: Yes

Shares similarity with: Jatayu, Thunder Bird.

The Roc is an enormous predominantly white, bird of prey that hails from Middle Eastern Legend. The Venetian traveller Marco Polo is said to have seen the birds of the island of Madagascar, and in the court of Kublai Khan. 

The Roc is said to look like an enormous vulture or eagle capable of carrying an elephant. 

The Roc is mentioned in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights). In which Sinbad the Sailor finds himself marooned on an island with a Roc egg. When the bird returns he ties himself to its leg with his turban and escapes. 

There is some suggestion that Roc may be a distorted misinterpretation of the extinct Elephant bird (Aepyornis maximus) of Madagascar. Which disappeared some time during the 17th Century.

[image reference:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_bird]

2. Lightening Bird

[image courtesy:DeviantArt]

 Beastly Facts

Name: Lightening Bird / Impundulu/ Thekwane/ Izulu/ Iyoni yezulu

Origin: African

Creep Factor: 1/10

Religious Affiliation: African animist

Deadly Rating: 3/10

Cryptid: undecided.

Shares similarity with: Jatayu, Thunder Bird. Halycon, Shangyang

The Lightning bird is a magical creature native to a number of African cultures (Pondo, Zulu and Xhosa).

The lightning bird appears as a lightning strike, except to women who can see the bird in its true form. The fat from the lightning bird contains a special component that is used in traditional African medicine.

The bird can only be captured at the moment lightning strikes the ground, or be dug up from an underground egg-laying cavity. The eggs of a lightning bird are said to be bad luck, are destroyed upon being found.

The Lightning bird is associated with rains and storms.  

On Wikipedia (reliable source of info that it is) suggests that the Lightning bird may have vampiric and shapeshifting tendencies. However, I can not confirm this. My Mythological Creatures Bible does not mention this aspect of the creature, and nor (as far as I am aware) do any other bestiary websites that I frequent.

 

The lightening bird is most commonly associated with the rather strange looking Hammerkop, due to its curved bill and long shaggy crest.

Those mythological birds, remarkably similar in nature to the Lightning bird are; thunderbirds, the Shangyang (Chinese mythology) - a one legged massive bird who blows out the rain. Folk law states that Chinese farms would once call upon the Shang Yang to water their fields and farms. They would do this by imitating the bird, hopp on one leg, wrinkle their foreheads and yell "It will thunder it will rain, because the Shang Yang's here again." (Rosen, 2010:pg164).

And the Halycon, hailing from Greek mythology. Unlike its counterparts, the Halycon is a small bird, no larger than a sparrow, sea blue with a rust coloured underside (often represented as a blue kingfisher).

  This bird is famed for its effects on the weather. The term "Halycon Days" is used to refer to the mid-winter calm on the ocean in the northern hemisphere. 

3. Thunderbird

 Beastly Facts

Name: Thunderbird / Wakį́yą, (Lakota) / Kw-Uhnx-Wa (Nuu Chah Nulth) / binesi         (Ojibwa)

Origin: Indigenous Norther American Nations.

Creep Factor: 1/10

Religious Affiliation: American Indigenous

Deadly Rating: 3/10

Cryptid: Yes

Step away from lip synching puppets, and meet the real mythological Thunder Bird. This Is a truly fascinating mythological beast, and one I first came across in Rachel Vincent's Shifter Series, (highly recommend them!)
Traditionally speaking, the Thunderbird is a mythical creature of immense power and strength. Like the African Lightning bird, it is capable of producing storms . Thunder follows in the wake of its wingbeats, and lightning is produced as it blinks. The cultures of the the Indigenous North American Nations have a rich oral history, in which the thunderbird may be found.

Interestingly, in researching this post I found references to a photograph from the 'wild west' of a captured thunderbird. However, there seems to be much dissention as to whether this image ever exisited - although many claim to have sighted it. Check out this blog for an interesting run-down this situation: The Butchers Floor.
Another interesting website is Paranormalis for general banter and opinions on crypids/mythological creatures.
Just a warning however, anything remotely mystical/paranormal/mythological tends to attract "interesting" types of people (like shit does flies) and I hold no liability for the weirdness that you may encounter there.

There has been some discussion that the thunderbird myths may relate back to the existence of the giant condor. Like megafauna all around the world, the Great Condor became extinct some 10,000 years ago. Some anthropologists suggest that the this bird was transformed into the legendary thunderbird after its extinction.

Cryptozoologists state that the 'sightings' of thunderbirds made in the modern day may  be sightings the few last remaining  Great Condors. I put this in the box with yetis being homo erectus, Nessy being a Pleisiosaur, and the beast of Gevaudan being a dire wolf - a nice idea and one to spark the imagination, but perhaps a little thin on the ground when it comes to reality - but none the less food for the muse of the paranormal romance writer!

Below are some interesting "ye olde worlde' pictures of alleged 'thunderbirds'.

Image: Link

 

 

Image link

  

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 Anyway, I must leave it here, I hope you have found this post as fascinating as I did! If you'd like to look more into mythological birds, here are some other interesting mythologies to google.

Garuda (Hindu/buddhist tradition)

 Swan Maidens (Norse)  

Bird Maidens (Middle Eastern)

Jatayu (Hindu from the Ramayana)

The 3 Legged Bird (Chinese, Japanese, Korean mythology)

Shang Yang (Chinese)

Halycon (Greek)   

On that note, enjoy your week :)