Last week in class, I came to know more about the history of
Cambodia, Laos and Viet Nam. One of the topics that caught my interest was the
mystical story of how each country originated. Laos and Cambodia share the same
legendary figure- the Naga but their myths own a unique story line. While Laos
believed that the Naga, who have a form of reptile and could transform into
human, live in the Laotian stretch of Mekong River and protect the country
capital Vientiane, in Cambodia the myth said that the Naga King married his
daughter to the king of Ancient Cambodia and then they gave rise to the
Cambodian people. Cambodian Naga statues are usually portrayed as seven-headed Naga serpents. From what I have heard, it seems like most of legendary
figures always possess or resemble some kind of animal form. Viet Nam is not an
exception. Viet Nam’s myth started with Lac Long Quan- a dragon king of the sea
and Au Co- a mountain fairy. They gave birth to 100 eggs that hatched 100
children. Lac Long Quan took 50 of them to the sea and Au Co brought the other 50
children to the mountain where her eldest son became the first Vietnamese king
Hung Vuong. Below are some pictures depicted the legendary characters I just mentioned.
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| Lac Long Quan and Au Co |
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| Cambodian Naga |
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| Laos Naga |
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