Fairy tales today - Fairy tale space in the human world

(Baonghean) - A river section on the Nam Non River, the Ca River (Nam Pao), or a mountain in the imagination of ancient people, it is like a fairyland. In fact, those are still places we can find on earth...

Lam River flows through Chi Khe commune - Con Cuong

The Lam River flows through Chi Khe Commune (Con Cuong), forming deep pools of water tens of meters deep, including a pool near Pu Cua Mountain. The Thai people call this pool Vang Cua. A short distance down is the Vang Xang pool. People believe that Vang Xang and Vang Cua used to be places where dragons lived. In the Tong Chai terraced fields, about 2 km away, there is a very large white rock standing out in the rice fields. The villagers call it “con dong” (white rock). People believe that it was carried by a dragon from the Lam River.

In the area, a folk tale was circulated: Once upon a time, when it was not clear whether she was from Dinh or Chai village, there was a very beautiful daughter of the village chief. She had white skin, flexible hands, and especially her singing voice was so beautiful that the stream next to the village had to stop and listen every time she spoke. Boys brought pi (a bamboo flute with 4 holes) and khen (a panpipe) to play all night and all day, but could not move the beautiful girl. Until one day, a strange boy came to visit. He rode on a white horse with a mane and tail that touched the ground, looking like the son of a mandarin. However, no one knew which village he came from, and no one dared to ask about his background because of fear. The family spread out a mat to invite him, but he did not sit, but insisted on sitting on a bamboo basket. No one knew that her singing voice had reached the water palace where the dragon lived. Gradually, the dragon developed feelings for her, so he transformed into a strange boy and came to confess his love. It is said that the young man did not dare to sit on the mat because there were thorns on the dragon's butt that would get stuck in the mat.

The rock next to Tong Chai rice field was carried back from Lam River by a dragon.

The villagers were surprised, but did not know how to know the identity of the distant guest. To win the beauty's heart, the village boys competed to see who was the strongest. The dragon boy knew this was an opportunity to win the beauty's heart, saying that he was strong enough to carry a large rock from the Lam River to the village for the boys and girls to sit and play. No one dared to believe it, but since it was a challenge, everyone went to the rice field next to the village to witness. So with just a wave of his hand, the large rock flew from the river and fell, frightening everyone. At this time, everyone knew that the boy transformed into a dragon had such strength. Everyone was scared and ran away. So just because he was eager to win the beauty's heart, the boy revealed his identity. When all the boys and girls in the village had left, the boy had no choice but to run back to the water palace. From then on, no one dared to contact him anymore, because everyone in the village was afraid of the dragon Vang Xang. Vang Cua often captured people from the river to become his servants.

Then, on quiet nights, the villagers in the area heard the faint sound of the pi ve ve, vập bap and the singing of the dragon boy. He sat on a white rock and sang: "Dragon Van Xang, Vang Cua Chinh is me". The song was mournful and sad. Unable to get the beautiful woman, the dragon did not make rain or wind to harm the villagers but quietly returned to the water palace. Later, because he missed his village and his people, he returned to Dinh village to become the "adopted son" of a person with the surname Ngan. After his death, he returned to the water palace. The dragon only returned to the village when the parents of a family with the surname Ngan had something to invite him to "come home for dinner". Therefore, whenever a family in this family had something big (building a house, a wedding, a funeral) or small (calling the spirit), it would immediately rain. The villagers believed that it was the dragon making rain "coming home for dinner".

Today, the white rock is said to have been carried by the Nam Pao river dragon, located next to Tong Chai field, which is the rice cultivation area of ​​Chai and Dinh villages (Chi Khe commune). The two water bodies of Vang Xang and Vang Cua are still there, two sections of Lam river shaped like a dragon's belly flowing through Chi Khe commune. The elders in the village believe that this is where the dragon lives!

According to the collection of author Lo Hoan, published recently in Muong Xung magazine (Literature - Arts Club of Tuong Duong district), at the location of Khe Bo Hydropower Plant (Tam Dinh commune - Tuong Duong) today, there is also a river section called Vang Cua (the author transcribed it as Vang Cua). There is also a folk story about this place name, and some places on the Nam Non river.

The dragon in Vang Tan on the Nam Non River, one day transformed into a handsome young man to visit the people's village and met a girl with a round face and beautiful skin, so he fell in love with her. The girl introduced herself as being from Vang Cua, after visiting her home, the young man asked to marry her and was accepted. Only the mother-in-law did not like the daughter-in-law's character, so when the dragon was away, she made harsh words that made the dragon girl cry bitterly, so she transformed into a beautiful young woman and asked to go on a boat and the father and son gave her a ride. In return for this favor, the dragon girl invited the father and son to go to the aquarium, and when she left, she gave them a cage and told them to open it when they got home. The father and son were curious, so on the way home they opened it and half of the shrimp in the cage jumped out. From then on, the shrimp mines of Xieng Tam and Muong Lam villages were formed. And when the dragon boy returned and did not see his wife, he became angry and caused a heavy rain and floods that swept through the mountains and forests. Since then, the Nam Non River has become rugged, with many waterfalls and rapids...

Another place name that has long existed in the consciousness of the Thai people in Nghe An is the mountain called Pha Bun. The mountain that the writer of this article heard his great-grandmother sing when he was a child: “I am about to go to Nam Mo to eat vegetables phac cat hoong/ Men Nam Khoong to eat phac cat keo/ Go to my maternal relatives in Pha Bun, Pha Dai/ Visit my brothers on the far road”. Later, reading an article by writer Quan Vi Mien, I learned that this place name also appears in the folk poem Khun Chuong of the Thai people in Phu Quy. This mountain is considered the Muong Troi mountain, where young men and women come to pray for love. This place name, like Vang Cua, Vang Tan, exists in the Muong people's land, in the mountainous district of Ky Son. On this mountain, in the 60s of the last century, was where the "Chau Pha" bandits from Laos came to harass the Muong people, killing people.

Thus, places like Muong Troi, Pha Bun, Pha Dai or Van Xang, Vang Cua are not only fairy tales but also places we can visit today. Perhaps, this fairy tale space is just a "return" of the human world. It is the folk tales that have turned familiar and beautiful lands into legends. Those real spaces have the meaning of a living museum of fairy tales!

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