Monthly Archives: May 2019

Why Lotuses are Pink and White

Nationality: Vietnamese
Age: 80
Occupation: Grandma
Residence: Anaheim, CA; born: Saigon, Vietnam
Performance Date: 3/23/19
Primary Language: Vietnamese
Language: English

Main Piece

There were 2 sisters whose parents died, they were orphans. So one day, this generous Vietnamese opera singer finds them and brings them home to raise them like his children. He taught them how to sing and dance. They grew up and became very beautiful girls who sang and dance. The village loved them for their amazing talents! But…in the next village, there was a rich man who was very cruel. One day, the father went on a business trip and asked the girls if they wanted anything from his trip.

 

The older girl said, “I want white ballet slippers with golden thread and embroidery.”

 

The younger girl said, “I want a pink slipper with golden embroidery.”

 

While their father was away, the rich old man tried to kidnap the sisters. They fought and fought but they both got kidnapped. But the older sister didn’t want to be raped by the man, so she jumped in the pond and she died. The younger sister saw her jump and jumper after her older sister into the pond and they both died in the lake. The father came back and couldn’t find the girls so he went to the lake and cried. At the lake, he saw round, beautiful green leaves as big as the hat his daughters used to wear. Then there was one with white petals and one with pink petals but both with golden pistils, and those were the girls.”

 

Context

My grandma would tell me stories like this when I was little. It would usually be while we were baking, eating, or when she was playing with me. My grandma moved to the U.S. from Vietnam during the war so she knows a lot of stories that her parents and grandparents used to tell her.

 

Notes

There are a lot of different aspects of this story related to Vietnamese culture. One being comparing girls to flowers, loving and caring for your family like how the man took the two girls under his wing, and the bond of family going so deep that even the two sisters die together. It also explains why some lotuses have pink flowers and some have white flowers.

Why the Ocean is Salty

Nationality: Vietnamese
Age: 52
Occupation: Doctor
Residence: Los Angeles; born: Saigon, Vietnam
Performance Date: 2/12/19
Primary Language: Vietnamese
Language: English

Main Piece

Mom: There were 2 brothers, a rich brother and a poor brother. The poor brother helped other people, so one day, he met an old man (a genie) who begged from the poor brother. He helped the old man who was actually a genie, so the genie gave the brother a grinder. The grinder could grind things that you wish: meat, food, and things like that. The poor brother became rich, grinding things for people and selling it.

 

So, the old rich bother went to visit him and asked him, “Oh wow! How did you become so rich?”

 

The poor brother said, “I have this grinder that grinds things up.”

 

The rich brother was fascinated and asked him how to work it. Then the rich brother stole the grinder from his brother so he could become richer. Then one day, he didn’t have any grinded up salt. So he started to grind the salt. But, he never asked his poor brother how to tell the grinder to stop. So the grinder kept grinding and grinding. The rich brother couldn’t figure it out so he threw the grinder in the in the ocean to get rid of it, so today it keeps grinding and grinding salt in the ocean making sea salt!”

 

Context

My mom escaped from Vietnam during the war when she was 12. While in Vietnam, she had to take a French class and they read a lot of stories in order to learn the language. This is one of the stories she read in her French book. She would tell this story to me when I was little to entertain me. She’d usually do it either after dinner or when I was getting bored in the car. I called her to tell me this story so I could get a fresh retelling of it.

 

Notes

I think it’s interesting that this story is similar to the other stories my mom told me even though it came from a French book. The other stories my mom told me explained things that occurred in nature that could not be explained by the science of its time. These stories are fun ways for kids to put reason to simple things in the world that are different – like fresh water and salt water.

Why Ducks Sleep on One Leg

Nationality: Vietnamese
Age: 80
Occupation: Grandma
Residence: Anaheim, CA
Performance Date: 3/23/19
Primary Language: Vietnamese
Language: English

Context

While at my grandma’s house, she was serving me lunch. She used to live in Vietnam and came to the U.S. during the Vietnam War. I asked her to tell me a story she used to tell me when I was little and spend the day at her house. For context of the story, the Jade emperor is the king of heaven.

 

Main Piece

Grandma: “Oh I remember. Do you know why the duck sleeps on one leg?”

 

Me: “No, why?”

 

Grandma: A long time ago, there were 3 ducks that each only have 1 leg. So, the other animals ridiculed them. They were embarrassed and felt that they were short changed.

 

They were talking to each other saying, “It’s really unfair that the jade emperor only gave us one leg!”

 

So, they asked the rooster and the goose for help. Together, they all rode to the Jade emperor.

 

When they got to his palace the Jade Emperor was shocked with himself, “I forgot to give you two legs when I made you,” and decided to give them each an extra golden leg as compensation.

 

But the emperor warned them that from then on, they need to guard their appendages carefully. So now when they sleep, ducks sleep on one leg to protect their golden leg.”

 

Notes

This legend is a fun story to explain something about nature people in the past may have questioned. It also incorporates Vietnamese religion and culture of the Jade emperor who created all animals.

Rubber Ducky River Race

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: USC Undergrad Student
Residence: Los Angeles; Florence, Oregon in the Summer
Performance Date: 4/21/19
Primary Language: English
Language: bits of German

Main Piece

“So, every July 4thin Florence Oregon, they have the annual Rubber duck race. You buy a rubber duck. And usually there are hundreds of people that do this, so it’s like hundreds of rubber ducks. They load them into these trucks. So, you have like, your number and your duck. They put them into this dump truck and they dump them all into the Siuslaw River. And they have this little course. Whosever duck crosses the finish line first gets the prize. I don’t know what the prize is because I’ve never won. But yeah, it’s this nice little tradition we have and it’s a nice, little town too so everyone plays.”

 

Context

The informant told me this story as a fun memory from the informant’s childhood. It is a fun tradition that is nostalgic to the informant because it is a time of the year where everyone in the town gets together.

This is a fun Fourth of July tradition the informant’s town held every year to celebrate the independence of the United States. She was born in Charlottesville, Virginia. She lived in Germany, Kansas, Virginia – but went back to Oregon to live at her family’s main house in Oregon. She only speaks English, but can speak parts of languages like Germany. Both parents are lawyers in the military (jags).

 

Notes

I have never heard of a town having such a large rubber duck race. My hometown has a fair every year and one of the games is a rubber duck race. But dumping an entire truckload of rubber ducks sounds like a fun and extra way to bring everyone in a small town together. It also creates a topic of discussion for everyone in that town to connect on.

The Boy Who Defeated China

Nationality: Vietnamese
Age: 80
Occupation: Grandma
Residence: Anaheim, CA
Performance Date: 3/23/19
Primary Language: Vietnamese
Language: English

Context

While at my grandma’s house, she was serving me lunch. She used to live in Vietnam and came to the U.S. during the Vietnam War. I asked her to tell me a story she used to tell me when I was little and spend the day at her house. First, she told me the story of why ducks sleep on one leg and then she told me the tale of a young boy who defeated the Chinese army that was attacking Vietnam.

 

Main Piece

Grandma: In Saigon, there is a statue of a young boy on top of a horse. There was a woman who lived by herself. One day she went into her garden and saw a huge footstep and she said, “Whose footstep is this?”

 

She put her foot inside the foot step to see how big it was. So, she went home and all of a sudden, she was pregnant. She gave birth to a baby boy.

 

She raised her child and always tried to get him to talk. But even when he turned 3 he couldn’t talk, he just wanted to eat! That year, the North Vietnam was invaded by a group of Chinese soldiers. So, the Vietnamese king sent out people and tried to recruit them to come fight the Chinese army. One of the king’s ambassadors came to the woman’s village and recruited people. The mother came home and said, “My dear boy, grow up so you can help the king with the Chinese invaders.”

 

The boy spoke for the first time and said, “Go and tell the ambassador and tell him I need to talk to him.”

 

His mother replied, “This is the ambassador, you shouldn’t bother him.”

 

But the boy insisted, “You need to go and tell them, you need to go and tell them!”

 

The neighbors heard and the old woman said, “Ok, I’ll tell the ambassador.”

 

She told the ambassador and the ambassador came and said, “This boy is only 3…how can he fight?”

 

The boy said, speaking like an adult, “You need to tell the king he needs to bring me a horse made of steel, a sword made of steel, and armor and a helmet and I’ll help the king fight.”

 

Everyone was so surprised! The ambassador told the king and the king thought this was the will of God. So, he had the steel horse, the steel sword, the helmet, and armor made and brought to the boy. When the boy saw that, he told his mother, “You need to cook me some rice so I can eat.”

 

She cooked pots and pots and pots of rice and as he eats, he grows and grows and touched her ceiling. He told his mother to make him clothes, she found fabric and made him clothes. He put on his armor and jumped on the horse. After, he said, “I am a general sent to you from God.”

 

He jumped on the horse and the horse reared, breathed out fire, and galloped off. The general fought the Chinese army and of course the Chinese army ran away.

 

Until this day, there are 3 villages in North Vietnam, and in those 3 villages, they have a lot of round ponds in a line and the legend said that those are the horse’s hoof prints. There were also woods in the forest where there are leftovers of burnt trees and that was from the fire from the horse. There is also this bamboo tree, that when it’s young, it’s green, and when it’s old, it’s yellow with dark spots, which is also from the horse’s fire because it burned the bamboo forest.”

 

Notes

This story incorporates the rule of 3s that is common in the U.S. In this story, the boy begins talking when he is 3 and the footprints from the horse are present as ponds in 3 villages. The story also incorporates Vietnamese mythology of kings taking orders from their god (the Jade Emperor).