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Dragon and Fairy - legend of the ancestors of Vietnam . Vietnamese myth of Lac Long Quan and Au Co unveils why the Vietnamese people are called themselves as "Dragon and Fairy descendants".

It is said that thousands of years ago, King Duong Vuong, the first king of the country who ruled over a vast territory in the south called Xich Quy (Red Devil), married Long Nu, the daughter of Than Long (Sacred Dragon), king of Lake Dong Dinh.

Because of Long Nu's origin, their son Sung Lam, popularly known as Lac Long Quan, was believed to be descended from the line of the Dragons.

Lac Long Quan, whose name means King Dragon of the Land of Lac, had superhuman strength, and he liked to stay near water. He succeeded to the throne of his father, and governed the Lac-Viet tribe.

De Lai, king of a northern tribe, with his daughter Au Co made a trip to visit the south. Admiring Lac Long Quan's talent, De Lai married Au Co to Lac Long Quan.

Au Co became pregnant and gave birth to a membranous sac. The sac kept getting larger and larger, and burst on the seventh day. There were one hundred eggs in the sac, and they hatched into one hundred beautiful babies.

Even though Lac Long Quan now had a family of his own, he often missed the coast and visited his mother Long Nu frequently. Au Co was unhappy with his absence.

Lac Long Quan told Au Co: "I am from the Dragon line. I like to dwell on the Coast. You are from the Fairy line, you like to be on highlands. Therefore, we can no longer live together. It is better that we separate now. You take fifty children to the highlands, and I will take fifty children down the coast..."

So, Lac Long Quan took fifty children to the coast and divided the areas to govern. He taught his people the skills of fishing and the art of tattoos so that when they dove into the water, the tattoos would scare off other marine animals.

He also educated the people about agriculture -- how to sow rice seeds and harvest rice. He showed them how rice can be cooked in a bamboo tube with some water and broiled over an open fire. When done, the bamboo tube is split and delicious cooked rice is inside.

Au Co herself took fifty children to the highlands, and also divided the areas to govern.

The people who went to live in the jungle or the mountainous regions learned to breed animals, and worked the land to grow fruit trees for food. They lived above the ground in houses built on stilts made of bamboo trees, to avoid wild animals.

Even though Lac Long Quan and Au Co were separated, Lac Long Quan stated: "Despite the distance and separation, we must listen for one another and lend a hand to one another when needed. We must never let our bond be broken."

The children of Lac Long Quan and Au Co were the ancestors of Vietnam, and so the Vietnamese are known as "Dragon and Fairy descendants."

The Hung kings

The eldest son of Lac Long Quan and Au Co, who was with this mother, established himself at Phong Chau, now the southern part of Phu Tho Province, and made himself king.

That was King Hung I whose realm was made up by 50 tribes.

The 18 Hung kings then ruled the country from 2879 to 258BC.

According to historical records, the regime of the Hung Kings was an impressive, brilliant and outstanding start for establishing Viet Nam as a sovereign nation.

The 18 generations of the Hung Kings saw the birth and development of a nation and are credited with forging national characteristics such as the sense of community, mutual affection, patriotism and unwillingness to yield to oppression.

From this original settlement, the Hong (Red) River civilization and the pre-Dong Son cultures grew.

From generations to generations, the Vietnamese people hold a festival nationwide on the 10th day of the third lunar month to commemorate the anniversary of their ancestor's death, founder of the Vietnamese nation - the first Hung King.

The main ceremony takes place at the Hung Temple on Nghia Linh Mountain in Lam Thao district, Phu Tho province, some 85km northwest of Hanoi.

The Hung King's Temple Festival is one of the most important and sacred festivals of the Vietnamese people, deeply imbedded in the minds of every Vietnamese citizen, regardless of where they originated.

Compiled by Thu Thuy

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