Context- J tells me about the legend of “imugi”, which were believed to be giant serpents that want to be dragons but have to live to be 1,000 years before becoming one. In order to become a true dragon, they must be 1,000 years old and obtain a pearl of power. J says that imugi can either be nice, or come off as mean due to frustration of not being fulfilled.
Analysis- Legends are a part of the narrative genre of folklore that may or may not be true. The legend of imugi in Korean culture can be equated with legends such as Loch Ness monster or seeing aliens—the likelihood of the stories being true is low, but people continue to believe and carry the legend on due to its cultural significance. Dragons are seen as wise beings in East Asian culture, and imugis are a level inferior to dragons. Koreans also use imugi to reference someone who hasn’t reached their full potential yet.
Between the ages of 2-5 I lived in Bohn with my parents and sister. My grandparents, moved to live in Bohn with us. They lived a few blocks down close to the Rhine river across from the Drachenfelse. The Drachenfelse ruins where visible from their apartment window and anytime we would drive in, out and across town. When we would drive across town I would get glimpses of it on the cross streets that led up to the Rhine. When we drove out of town it was clearly visible once the buildings faded away and the same when we would return from trip out of town.
Though they were, of course, just ruins, my grandfather and father used to tell me the tales of the dragon the lived on that hill and was slain or perhaps was just slumbering on it.
The “best” was on foggy mornings. With the clouds and fog moving across it, it gave the impression of the dragon breath or steam from the fire and even more so of the dragon moving.
I remember them telling me stories about the battle with the dragon and how it was killed.
(After asked to tell the story)
Sigfried worked for a king who had a lot of treasure and at some point found out that the king was stealing and hiding all the treasure from the people. When Sigfried confronted the king he first sent a giant to kill him but Sigfried beat the giant. He then sent a dragon to kill him being sure that it would do the trick, but Sigfried defeated the dragon as well. The legend was that the dragon wasn’t killed though and could come back.
(Photo attached from linked Google street view)
Context
The informant heard this story from their father and grandfather as a kid around three to four years old. At the time, they completely believed it and never even considered that it was just a story. Their parents did not do anything to change this and let them believe it was true. They found the hill to be scary but also fascinating and said that “I wanted to look and I didn’t want to look…fascination, fear combined with awe and excitement.” They particularly remember thinking “about “what was it like when it was alive? Would it wake up?” They also said that they were too scared to climb it whenever their father and grandfather would suggest it. They didn’t specify whether they believed it now or not but from their writing, it seemed likely they didn’t anymore.
Analysis
This story is one of many that explains a natural occurrence by creating a narrative around it. This hill, Drachenfels (meaning Dragon Rock), looks like a dragon lying down and can easily be explained with a story about a legendary person who beat the dragon. Natural formations are a good storytelling tool because everyone hearing it can see the exact thing that is being referenced. This can make the story even more real to the people who are listening and possibly help to convince them of the truth.
The story is about dragons which are very common in older legends, especially in Europe which has a long list of legends about the mythical creature. The use of dragons reflects the local culture which likely already emphasized belief in dragons when this was originally told. Other areas might have chosen a different legendary creature that was more important to their culture. The character Sigfried is known as The Dragon Slayer and appears in other Germanic legends, so his inclusion in this story about a slain dragon makes sense.
The fact that the story specifies that the dragon is not dead might play a role in why this legend was told to the informant as a child. Dragons are large and scary creatures and by telling a child, who is more likely to believe the story, you warn them against going near the hill. The hill is large, forested, and dangerous so a parent could use this story to prevent a child from going there alone. The fact that it is the parents telling the child the story would influence them more than just reading it because they would be hearing it from a trusted source. The believability of this story could also be influenced by other factors such as the time of day, proximity to the hill, and, as the informant mentioned, the presence of fog that creates the illusion of smoke and movement. In the informant’s case, the story was extremely successful as they were too scared to go on the hill, even with their parents.
The Dragonboat Festival is a holiday that happens on the fifth day of the fifth month in the Lunar Calendar, which equates to around the summer solstice for non-Lunar calendars. The story behind it is that there once was a wise advisor who failed to convince his king that a great enemy would destroy their land, causing him to commit suicide by drowning himself in a river. The people were so saddened by his death that they made rice dumplings wrapped in leaves called ‘Zong Zi’ and threw them in the river to let the fish eat those instead of the advisor’s dead body. Nowadays, we eat ‘Zong Zi’ to remember him, and to celebrate the summer festivities. The epynomous dragonboat races take place around the rivers, and since it’s around the time of the summer solstice, the earth’s position is at the perfect place to allow eggs to stand up on their own when placed on a flat surface, so people often go to their homes or outside and attempt it.
Context:
C was born and raised in Taiwan, and has traveled the world various times due to her work and studies. She regularly participates in Taiwanese and Asian festivities with friends and family. She has been said to be quite good at the egg-standing activity during the Dragonboat festivals, and has participated in a smaller version of the dragonboat races.
Analysis:
Interestingly enough, even though the festival is named the ‘Dragonboat Festival’, the origin didn’t actually start with dragonboats or races, though I suppose it would be weirder to call it the ‘Rice Dumpling festival’. The mandarin name of the festival is ‘Duan Wu Jie’, literally “dual five festival”, but perhaps the name wouldn’t make sense in english due to the different ways of tracking time. This is an example of how globalization makes its way into tradition and festival, giving new names and meaning to already-existing festivities.
P.P has been my friend since middle school and is also a Burmese person who is originally from Yangon, Myanmar. When I asked her of any legends, myths or tales she knows of, she recounts a myth that she learned of when traveling with her family and friends. Her family went on regular trips along with other family friends, to different places all over Myanmar. This included a lot of superstitious tourist spots.
“I went to the Nga Ka Pwe Taung, also known as Dragon’s Lake, at Min Bu. This was when I was in middle school and me and my family visited a lot of these mythical places. This place has bubbling pools on top of four weirdly shaped mounds. The people at the village said that place is called a Dragon’s lake because it is where a dragon died with his significant other. They say that the pool keeps bubbling almost like an active volcano but doesn’t erupt, because the dragon’s love for his partner was so passionate. I think the tourist guides made this story up to attract more visitors but nonetheless it was still a fun place to visit.”
The myth of the Dragon’s Lake was probably made to explain a natural phenomenon like the bubbling pools that don’t erupt, since people who don’t understand the scientific reasons for that, might want an explanation. Since people at Min Bu are also really religious, this story would be a great “explanation” and also serves to reinforce their existing beliefs in mythical beings like dragons. It also shows that dragons are capable of enduring love, adding another layer to why the creature should be worshiped / respected.
My informant for this one was my mom. I asked her if she had any interesting stories on folk narratives and she brought up the legend of the Chinese Jade Dragon. She talked about how in Chinese culture, dragons represent strength and good luck, and jade represents wisdom, courage, and beauty. Together, a jade dragon is a symbol of good fortune. She mentioned how many shops would have a jade dragon placed inside to attract good business and prosperity. She said that she had gotten one for our home for my health because I had asthma and a bad dust allergy as a kid, and the pollution in China gave me really bad allergic reactions, causing my face to swell up, and I would have trouble breathing probably.
For as long as I can remember, my family has always had the same jade dragon in our living room as our good luck charm and protector of the house. It’s a family tradition to rub the dragon’s head or back for good luck. After we moved from China to Canada, my mom made sure to have our jade dragon shipped over to our new home. I practically grew up with that dragon, it’s been with me for most of my life and it has been very loved and well taken care of by my family. In a sense, the dragon has fulfilled its duties because after we moved to Canada, I no longer had asthma, and my dust allergy became much more manageable. Moving out of China was the best thing that could have ever happened to me and I’m really fortunate to have been given that chance.
