Traditional Stories & Folk Tales

Much of Vietnamese culture is made up of folk tales - old stories about the origination of things. Even the songs of Vietnam come from the old stories - and people here have a special emotional connection to them. There is a story in Vietnam for everything; such as the legend of Hoan Kiem Lake (a magic turtle gives the king a sword to conquer his northern enemies). I find the stories entertaining, and after talking with a number of locals in Hanoi I have discovered that they tell them mostly for entertainment value - they don't really believe that the stories were true. I visited a temple that is called the "ladies' temple" because it was founded on one of these stories, "100 Eggs, 100 Children."

So I can't help wonder, did anyone ever believe them? If so, it would sort of be like us believing that the "Three Little Pigs" story really happened. But then, maybe that is taking things a little too far. You decide.

If you want to read some of the folk tales you might want to visit a website called "Kid's Corner." It has a lot of stories that you can read through quickly and get a sense of how the people view tragedy and happy endings. Make sure you click on the English version.
Artwork and stories from 1996-98, Kicon, Inc.