Mountain Fairy Mother
Vietnamese · demigod · Hồng Bàng period — mythic dawn of the Lạc Việt · Recorded classification
Progenitor demigod (immortal fairy). English title leads; native Âu Cơ (甌姬) given in alt/transliterations. She is venerated as Quốc Mẫu ('Mother of the Nation'), notably at Đền Mẫu Âu Cơ, Phú Thọ.
Domains
- mountains and highlands
- motherhood fertility
- immortal fairy being
Powers
- Bears a sac of one hundred eggs that hatch the ancestral people
- Leads fifty children to settle the mountains of Phong Châu
Epithets
- 甌姬 Immortal mountain-fairy mother of the Hundred SonsLĩnh Nam chích quái ('Wondrous Tales of Lĩnh Nam', 15th c.) (primary)
- 國母 'Mother of the Nation' — her venerated cult titleVietnamese temple cult tradition (Đền Mẫu Âu Cơ) (secondary)
Relations
- spouse: Dragon Lord of LạcTheir hundred sons, born of one egg-sac, founded the Hung line; the pair parted, fifty sons going to the mountains with her, fifty to the sea with him.Linh Nam chich quai, 'Truyen ho Hong Bang' (15th c.) (primary)
Sources
- Âu Cơ, an immortal mountain fairy, marries the dragon-lord Lạc Long Quân and is mother of the hundred-son ancestral line (Bách Việt).: Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư, outer annals, 1479 (primary); Lĩnh Nam chích quái, 'Họ Hồng Bàng' (primary)