Vietnamese mythology
Vietnamese mythology 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 has been transferred through oral traditions and in writing. The story of Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ 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, is labeled as a truyền thuyết, 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 discovering a mythical sword from a magical turtle.
Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư proposed more details on the origins of the two progenitors, for example on how Lạc Long Quân was the son of Kinh Dương Vương, who was in turn descended from the Viêm Đế or Yan Emperor/Thần Nông or Shennong.
Additionally, Ngô Sĩ Liên, 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.
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. Historical legend occurs in the story of the Thuận Thiên 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 legend of Son Tinh and Thuy Tinh
- 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