First published July 2025 | Words by Joshua Zukas | Read time 10 minutes
Joshua is a contributing writer for Vietnam Coracle. A freelancer whose body of work focuses primarily on travel & architecture, Joshua covers Vietnam regularly for Lonely Planet, Michelin Guide, Insider, Ink Global & many of Asia’s top inflight magazines. He also writes intermittently for publications such as The Economist, Wallpaper & Interior Design Magazine. He holds an MSc in sustainable tourism….read more about Joshua
The Mythological Origin of Vietnam’s Annual Monsoon Storms & Floods
One of the most dramatic Vietnamese myths is the tale of Sơn Tinh and Thủy Tinh. Though perhaps a clichéd story shaped by traditional gender roles and the classic triumph of good over evil, it nevertheless provides a powerful explanation for Vietnam’s perennial, flood-inducing typhoons – and reveals how the Vietnamese learned to resist them. Sơn Tinh remains one of the country’s most beloved heroes: he is said to dwell atop the highest peak of Ba Vì Mountain, counts among the Four Immortals and even lends his name to a craft rice wine. Many Vietnamese over a certain age know the story through Sơn Thần Thủy Quái, a beloved, low-budget 1989 television elaboration of the myth. Still images from this film help illustrate my own interpretation of this story below, along with photos of Vietnam’s landscapes and drawings by Trần Phương Thoại, which appear in Thiên và Ác và Cổ Tích, published by Kim Đồng Publishers in 2019.
CONTENTS:
The Story of Sơn Tinh & Thủy Tinh
⮟
If you enjoy this article, see Related Posts for similar stories and please support Vietnam Coracle or consider purchasing one of my Offline Guides & Maps from the shop. Thank you, Tom
Support My Website
Free | Independent | No Sponsored Content
“Hello, if you enjoy my website, please support it.
Thank you.” Tom
What are Etiological Myths?
Etiological myths, also known as pourquoi stories, form the backbone of many cultural legendaria. In English-speaking cultures, these are commonly referred to as just-so stories, a term popularised by Rudyard Kipling in 1902. In essence, they are imaginative and often playful narratives that offer fantastical explanations for the world’s peculiarities – why animals appear as they do, how certain landscapes came to be, or why natural phenomena behave in formally unexplainable ways. Among the most familiar examples in the West are the biblical tale of the serpent, doomed to forever crawl on its belly for deceiving Eve, and Kipling’s “The Elephant’s Child,” which recounts how the elephant’s trunk was born when a curious youngster stumbled into an altercation with a crocodile. Vietnam’s rich legendarium, too, is replete with etiological myths, many of which seek to explain the country’s diverse geography.
The most well-known Vietnamese etiological myth, at least among visitors, explains the formation of Hạ Long Bay. While various versions exist, one of the most popular tells of the King of Heaven sending dragons to defend Vietnam from northern naval invaders. These ethereal creatures spat out jade and pearl, which transformed into islands that sank enemy ships and created a natural fortress – the seascape seen today.
A lesser-known etiological tale recounts the origin of Ba Bể Lake. According to legend, a deity disguised as a beggar arrived in a village to test its hospitality. Only a kind widow offered him shelter, sharing what little she had. As punishment for the other villagers, the deity unleashed a catastrophic flood that drowned the valley, sparing only the widow’s home, which rose above the waters to become a small islet now known as Hòn Bà Góa (Widow’s Island). It’s still possible to visit the island today.
The Story of Sơn Tinh & Thủy Tinh:
How Vietnam Got Its Floods
Long ago, when the mountains and rivers still manifested as spirits, King Hùng Vương XVIII reigned over Văn Lang, the first Vietnamese kingdom. He possessed power and wisdom beyond most mortals, and he was also a devoted father to his daughter: Mỵ Nương Ngọc Hoa. The kingdom’s radiant princess was uncommonly beautiful even from a young age, with a grace that was said to rival the first buds of spring. As Mỵ Nương blossomed into a young woman, King Hùng Vương became increasingly occupied with securing her a worthy husband. Knowing that Mỵ Nương would – and should – settle only for the best that the universe could offer, the king announced a call for suitors from across the realms, summoning princes, warriors and even divine beings.
Among those who came forward, two stood higher than the rest: Sơn Tinh, the lord of the mountains, and Thủy Tinh, the master of the oceans. These were no mere spirits or minor deities; they were ancient gods, primordial embodiments of the elements themselves. Sơn Tinh arrived clad in a cloak of forest mist, his presence accompanied by fragrant winds and the whisper of rustling leaves. With a single gesture, he summoned hills covered in trees and caused rocks to pile into lofty peaks. Thủy Tinh appeared amidst swirling storm clouds, and with one breath he conjured heavy rain, foaming waves and torrents that threatened to engulf the earth.
The king, presumably a little intimidated, found himself in a torment of indecision. How could he choose between the steadfast strength of the mountains and the relentless power of the sea? And, perhaps more worryingly, what havoc might the rejected suitor inflict upon his kingdom?
Settling on a way to decide fairly (and to divert destruction), he proposed a challenge: the first to present a nine-tusked elephant, a rooster with nine spurs and a horse with nine flowing manes would win Mỵ Nương’s hand. At dawn the next morning, the god who stood at the palace gates with these rare treasures of nature would be the victor.
Swift as a hawk, Sơn Tinh scoured the forests and plains, his quest raising new ridges and valleys. By the time the first golden rays of sunlight touched the palace walls the following day, he returned triumphant with the magnificent mutants. True to his promise, King Hùng Vương granted Sơn Tinh Mỵ Nương’s hand, and the princess gladly accepted her new husband.
When Thủy Tinh arrived moments later with his own trio of anomalous animals, he saw only the empty courtyard and the distant shape of Sơn Tinh departing with Mỵ Nương. Consumed by humiliation, he howled into the sky. The winds turned savage, black clouds crowded the heavens and the rivers burst from their beds in monstrous floods. Waves crashed against the foot of the mountains, sweeping away villages, fields and forests in their wrathful surge. Despite his efforts, King Hùng Vương’s worst fears had come to light, and now his kingdom faced imminent destruction.
Sơn Tinh, now a dutiful son-in-law and protector of the realm, refused to allow the annihilation of the family legacy he’d just married into. With the help of mountain spirits like Cao Sơn (literally “high mountain”), he caused the hills to grow even taller, raising the earth above the ravenous waters. He enlisted the strongest men and taught them to build embankments and dykes to defend their settlements, weaving an intricate system of barriers to stand against the ocean’s fury. The land trembled as mountains climbed higher and torrents smashed against their sides, a titanic duel between earth and water that the world had not yet seen.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. And although Thủy Tinh’s fury seemed infinite, even the sea cannot rage forever. Exhausted, he finally withdrew, his waves receding, leaving behind a sodden but ultimately undefeated land. Yet he swore eternal vengeance, vowing to return year after year to remind the world of his everlasting vindictiveness. To this day, the annual monsoon floods in Vietnam are seen as Thủy Tinh’s unrelenting assaults, a living reminder of an ancient heartbreak and humiliation.
Today, the marriage of Sơn Tinh and Mỵ Nương can be understood as a union of man and spirit but also a cosmic symbol of Vietnam’s enduring battle against nature’s extremes. Each typhoon season, the rivers swell and fields disappear beneath water – but Sơn Tinh’s mountains and the dykes he taught the Vietnamese to build will always rise to meet them.
⮟
If you enjoyed this article, see Related Posts for similar stories and please support Vietnam Coracle or consider purchasing one of my Offline Guides & Maps from the shop. Thank you, Tom
*Disclosure: Vietnam Coracle content is always free and independent. Joshua has written this article because he wants to: he likes Vietnam’s myths and he wants readers to know about them. For more details, see the Disclosure & Disclaimer statements and my About Page
