Vietnamese Culture Copyright 1998 Tran Thong Issue 32. The legend of ba'nh chu+ng, ba'nh da^`y and the watermelon. Please direct all questions to [email protected] ==================================================================== Issue #1: Tet 1971 in Vietnam! by Phu Si, VB710118 Issue #2: The Unicorn dance at Tet, by Minh Tam, VB710118. Issue #3: The origin of Tao Quan, the three kitchen gods, by George F. Schultz, VB710118. Issue #4: 1971 - The year of the Pig, by Van Ngan, VB710118. Issue #5 The Joy of "first writing of the new year", by Thuy Ngoc, VB710208. Issue #6: Traditional Vietnamese male attire, by Van Ngan, VB710208 Issue #7: The legend of Princess Lieu Hanh, George F. Schultz, VB710215 Issue #8: The dialogue on Mount Na-Son, George F. Schultz, VB710222 Issue #9: The secret housewife, George F. Schultz, VB710301 Issue #10: The golden axe, George F. Schultz, VB710308 Issue #11: Golden age of Viet Nam under the Hung Kings, Pham Tung, TAS720506. Issue #12: The legend of Chu Van Dich, George F Schutlz, VB701221 Issue #13: The sandalwood maiden, George F. Schultz, VB7010?? Issue #14: Legend about Emperor Ly Thai-To, George F Schultz, VB7010?? Issue #15. Chu Dong-Tu and Princess Tien Dung, George F. Schultz, VB701005 Issue #16. The husband's most difficult task: teaching his wife, Van Ngan, VB 691216 Issue #17: Superstition in Viet Nam, Van Ngan, VB6911?? - May 8, 1996. Issue #18: Hair: VN style, VB7007?? - May 15, 1996 Issue #19: Funeral rites in Viet-Nam, Van Ngan, VB7006?? - May 22, 1996. Issue #20: "Non Bai Tho" or the "Poetical Leaf", ???, VB7011??. Issue #21: The different systems of writings in Viet-Nam, ???, VB710201. Issue #22: Vietnamese literature in "Chu Nom", ???, VB710201. Issue #23: The boat of illusion, Nguyet Cam, Heritage Sept/Oct 1995. Issue #24: Tran Hung Dao's proclamation to his officers, George F. Schultz, VB 710201. Issue #25: The refined pleasure of tea-drinking, Tuong Minh, The Saigon Times Weekly, No. 238. Issue #26: The hero of Phu Dong, ADT Issue #27: The genie of Ta?n Vie^n, ADT Issue #28: The magic crossbow, ADT Issue #29: The legend of tra^`u cau, ADT Issue #30: Tu+` Thu+'c and Gia'ng Hu+o+ng , ADT Issue #31: Tru+o+ng's wife, ADT Issue #32: The legend of ba'nh chu+ng, ba'nh da^`y and the watermelon. =================================================================== In celebration of the upcoming Te^'t, I would like to contribute the following two stories about traditional cakes and fruits used in the ceremonies to honor our ancestors on the eve of Te^'t, or Giao Thu+`a. Of course after the ancestor have received the offerings ... we get to eat them! Happy Te^'t Ma^.u Da^`n. ==== The legend of Ba'nh Chu+ng and Ba'nh Da^`y During the Ho^`ng Ba`ng dynasty, the King, the sixth of the dynasty, with his health failing and after a long reign that included the war with the A^n (see the legend of the hero of Phu` DDo^?ng, Issue #26), decided to select his successor. His many wives have given him twenty two princes. They were all grown-up. The King thought: "Many of my sons are talented. This is actually the reason why I need to select my successor wisely so that the others will not contest my choice". He thought many nights over this problem, but could not make up his mind, which of the twenty two sons to pick as his successor. Finally one of his minister suggested that a contest be organized to select the next King. So, the King had all his sons assembled and declared: "I know that I am close to the earth and far from the sky (ga^`n dda^'t xa tro+`i). I would like to pass this throne to one of you. I decided that my selection will be based on a contest. I would like all of you to find or cook a special offering for the feast of the ancestor on the eve of the new year. I will abdicate in favor of the one of you who can come up with the best offering." So, all the princes set out to find the best ingredients in the universe. They went up the mountains, down the ocean in search of the best foods. Anything that was reputed to be delicious was collected. Of the twenty two princes, Prince Lie^u was the 18th. He lost his mother at an early age, so he spent most of time by himself. While the other princes have servants to help them find the best foods, Prince Lieu was at a loss on what to do because he had nobody to help him. There were only three days left and Prince Lieu still has not come up with any special dish to prepare. That night, he reminisce over all the special meals that he had partaken. He thought and thought ... and felt asleep. In this state, he dreamed he was competing with his twenty one brothers in preparing the offering to the ancestors. Each were in small cottages in the contest camp that the King had built for the occasion. Prince Lieu did not know where to start. Suddenly an angel came down from the heavens. She said: "In the universe there is nothing more precious than rice. Let us not prepare a sumptuous feast! Only two special dishes are sufficient. Please get me some (sticky) rice and some (mung) bean (also called green bean, dda^.u xanh). When Prince Lieu came back with the rice and the bean, the angel has already gathered some big green leaves. The angel explained: "This first cake will represent the earth. The earth has rice fields and mountains, thus it must be green. Since the earth is square, this cake must also be square. For fillings, we must have meat and bean, since the earth supports animals and plants. ... The green leaves around the cake with the filling is also another symbol of the love of parents who always protect their children. For the second cake, we must knead the sticky rice until it becomes smooth to represent the heavens. It must be white and round, like the heavens..." Prince Lieu woke up and prepared the cakes as suggested by the angel. That year Te^'t eve, when the princes were due to present their special offerings to the ancestors, was one of the most joyful day in Phong Cha^u, the capital. People from all over the kingdom came to the capital to celebrate this special Tet eve, which will start with the contest and will end with the coronation of a new king. Exactly at sunrise, the King arrived on the royal palanquin at the contest field. Flags were flying all around, and the sound of drums and cymbals created a very lively atmosphere. Everybody waited for the decision of the judges. They tasted "nem co^ng" (peacock meatloaf), bear feet, rhino liver, ... But surprise! None were a match for the two very simple cakes prepared by Prince Lie^u. When the judges first saw his offerings to the ancestor, they all disapproved because the cakes looked so simple ... so common. However, as were their duties, they tasted them... and changed their mind. One minister declared: "These have a very special flavor even though made from rather common ingredients". The judges presented their choice to the King. He tasted the two cakes and was also very surprised by their special favor. He took uncut cakes and looked at them closely, turning them over and over. He had Prince Lie^u come and explain to him how the cakes were made. Prince Lie^u truthfully told him of his dream and how he prepared the cakes. That afternoon, the King convened all his sons and declared that he will pass the throne to his eighteenth son. He showed the two special cakes and told the assembly the reason for his selection: "These two cakes are not only delicious but they hold special meanings. They are symbols of filial piety, respect of the parents like the heavens and the earth. They are also symbols of a love for the country and the rice fields. They can be made with the most precious of the precious pearls of the universe, but everybody can easily get them. Only one blessed by the Heavens can come up with such perfect cakes". Since then, our customs calls for preparing ba'nh chu+ng and ba'nh da^`y as offerings for our ancestors. Prince Lie^u became King Tie^'t Lie^u, or King Hu`ng the seventh. Author's comments: While the ba'nh chu+ng is still common fare during Te^'t, the ba'nh da^`y has not fared as well, at least in the South. Most probably because it requires much more involved preparation ... and is not as filling! My memory of the ba'nh da^`y is that we ate it with Vietnamese ham (cha? lu.a). Cha? lu.a was viewed as more of a northern delicacy, so was not as widely available in the south. An interesting side note. In the South, people do not cook ba'nh chu+ng. They prepare ba'nh te't, which uses the same ingredients but is cylindrical. Could it be a merger of the ba'nh chu+ng and ba'nh da^`y. Anybody knows the history of the ba'nh te't? The custom in the South it to prepare ba'nh te't and ba'nh i't for Te^'t. From a practical point of view, the reason for preparing ba'nh chu+ng is because there were no market for weeks at the beginning of the year. Thus, it was not possible to buy fresh food. The ba'nh chu+ng can be kept for a couple of weeks (eat them fresh at first, then fried towards the end of the holiday). Watermelon, the subject of the next story, can also be kept for a month without spoiling. ==== The story of the watermelon King Hung the 18th has an adopted son, Mai Ye^?n, with the nickname of An Tie^m. He grew to become an important minister at the court. However this very bright youth was very boastful. He frequently claimed that his success was completely due to his outstanding intelligence and talent and he never had relied on the support of anyone. This latter phrase got to the ear of the King who considered him an ungrateful son and decided to exile him to an isolated island off Nga So+n (now Thanh Ho'a). When the exile decree was delivered, An Tiem's wife was very concerned about how they were going to survive on a deserted island. But An Tiem belief did not waiver. He declared: "God made us. Life and death are decided by God and us. Why worry!". So, An Tiem, his wife and son, were delivered to their exile. They spend the first nights on the sandy beach of the island where they built a hut. Working hard, soon they have managed to clear a big field where they were able to plant a small crop. They supplemented their diet with hunting. One Autumn day An Tiem shot down a strange bird that flew in from the West (East is the Pacific ocean!). As his wife cleaned the bird, she found some unusual seeds in its belly. An Tiem threw them in a small plot of land without much thought. Soon, big creeping plants grew on that plot of land. And around the end of the year, they bore big round green fruits. When they looked ripe, An Tiem collected them. He was very surprised when he cut them to find a delicious red and sweet pulp. An Tiem collected the seeds and replanted them. Very soon he had a large patch of watermelon. One day, a merchant ship trying to evade a big storm, dropped anchor by the island. An Tiem was very pleased to host these unexpected guests. As they left he gave them watermelons as present. The ship captain gave him some dry goods in exchange. Soon, words got around lingdom about the delicious watermelon from the island of An Tiem. A trade developed between the island and the mainland. Watermelons were send to the mainland in exchange for various goods. With this trade, An Tiem can now lead a rather comfortable life. Because the watermelon came from the West, An Tiem named it Ta^y Qua? (Western fruit). The Chinese liked the watermelon and complimented it with "Ha^?u" (good). This was changed to "ha^'u" and thus the watermelon came to be called "du+a ha^'u". Back to An Tiem. After a few years, the King heard about the watermelon from the island of An Tiem. He tried it and liked it. Thinking about how An Tiem overcame adversity, the King became very proud of his adopted son and had him brought back to the court. An Tiem got back his ranks and power. From his experience on the deserted island, An Tiem mellowed and became a good minister of the court. He brought back his seeds and gave them to the people. Thus came the watermelon to our country! ================================================================= BACK ISSUES Send me an e-mail at [email protected]