Butterflies, crabs, immortals (Following folktales around the world 192. - Vietnam)

Today I continue the blog series titled Following folktales around the world! If you would like to know what the series is all about, you can find the introduction post here. You can find all posts here, or you can follow the series on Facebook!

Land of Seagull and Fox
Folk tales of Vietnam
Ruth Q. Sun
C.E.Tuttle, 1967.

This book is interesting because it was written in the middle of the Vietnam War, by a woman on a Fulbright scholarship who happened to be in Saigon. In the Introduction she writes about Vietnamese people and culture with appreciation. Stories have been re-told eloquently by her; she appears to know the storytelling tradition very well. Bonus points because she didn't translate Tien (immortals) as "fairies". 

Highlights

I liked the story that explained why people are not immortal - the water of the Well of Immortality was so cold that the first people only dipped their fingers, toes, and head into it (which is why our nails and hair keep growing after death, says the legend).

I also enjoyed the practical tale of the butterfly in the granary, where a kind fisherman acquired a cloak of invisibility, which he used to steal grains from the granaries of rich people, and give it to the poor. He was caught because he put a patch on the torn cloak, and people could see the non-magical fabric. However, when the enemy attacked the kingdom, everyone he'd ever helped followed him to battle, and with the help of the cloak he won the victory.

One of the most well known Vietnamese tales is One year in Fairyland - one of those stories where someone spends a short time in a magic realm, only to find out centuries had passed in the real world. This version is especially beautiful and heartbreaking.

One of my favorite tales was the origin story of Da-Trang Crabs - mostly because the hero who learned the language of animals used his knowledge in very creative ways. After he lost his magic pearl, and his powers with it, he turned into a sand crab, and he has been trying to push sand into the ocean to dry it out and find his pearl again...

Connections

Vietnamese tales (for historical reasons) have a lot in common with Chinese stories. For example, there was a classic Weaver Girl and the Cowherd legend in this book, one of the most well-known love stories in the world (and it was missing the stolen-dress motif, which is a plus).

I found a more distant connection in a legend I've known from Central American traditions before. A man goes to war, and when he returns his young son talks about "another father". The jealous husband kills his wife, only to find out the "other father" was shadow play the patient mother used to entertain her child...

I was reminded of Italian Renaissance short stories by Friends and Brothers, where a husband (inspired by his wife) puts his friends and his brother to a test to see who would help him bury a body. The moral of the tale is that you can only really trust family.

There was also a Vietnamese Cinderella, a Fortunatus story, and some tales that reminded me of Japanese and Korean folklore.

Where to next?
Cambodia!