Ông Trời
Ông Trời (Chữ Nôm: 翁𡗶; "Old Man Sky/Heaven" / "Grandfather Sky/Heaven") commonly referred to as Trời (𡗶; "Sky/Heaven"); Ông Thiên (翁天); also called Ngọc Hoàng Thượng Đế (Chữ Hán: 玉皇上帝; "Highest Deity the Jade Emperor"), referred to as Ngọc Hoàng (玉皇; "Jade Emperor"), or Thượng đế (Chữ Hán: 上帝; "Highest Deity"), Ngọc Đế (玉帝), Ngọc Hoàng Đại Đế (玉皇大帝), Hạo Thiên Đế (昊天帝) is the king of the gods in mythology and Vietnamese folk religion. In the Đạo Mẫu, he is called the Vua Cha Ngọc Hoàng (𢂜吒玉皇; "Monarchial Father the Ngọc Hoàng). In Vietnamese Buddhism, he is frequently identified with Śakra.
| Ông Trời Ngọc Hoàng | |
|---|---|
_(1).jpg) Ngọc Hoàng statue, Nguyễn Dynasty antiquities | |
| Vietnamese name | |
| Vietnamese alphabet | Ông Trời Ngọc Hoàng |
| Chữ Hán | 玉皇 |
| Chữ Nôm | 翁𡗶 |
_(2).jpg)
Mythology
Ông Trời was originally the Vietnamese god, later influenced by Taoism from China, this god was identified with the Jade Emperor (Ngọc Hoàng).
Origin
The origin of this god is not agreed, according to one of the most popular stories recounted that:
Once upon a time, before all things, there was a god. Trời is an incomparable power above, making everything: the earth, the mountains, the rivers, the sea, the rain, the sun. Trời gave birth to all human beings, animals, plants...
Trời sees everything, knows everything that happens in the world. Trời is the father of all things, considering all things, rewards and punishments do not leave anyone, no one escapes the net of heaven, everything is determined by heaven. Therefore, people believe in heaven's way, and often say that creation was born and raised by Trời, and when a person dies, they returns to heaven.
Ông Trời also has a wife, called Bà Trời, and every time they get angry at each other, it's both sunny and rainy. Every time Trời is angry with humans for making mistakes in the world, natural disasters will be sent: storms, floods, droughts...
He is the first god of heaven who created mankind. The Ngọc Hoàng used clay to mold the body, dried it in the sun, suddenly a heavy rain fell, and hurriedly took the statues away, but some statues could not be retrieved in time and were damaged by rainwater. The damaged statues turned into disabled people on the ground, and the removed statues turned into healthy people with full limbs. Later, the job of shaping people was assigned by Ngọc Hoàng to twelve Bà mụ.
The Trời's country is from the ground up to above, there are nine heavens. The Ngọc Hoàng was in the palace and was imitated by the emperor below. At the door of the palace, there is a god in armor holding a staff to hold the door. Ngọc Hoàng met here, the court was no different from that in the lower world, there were mandarins, martial arts officers, generals, that is, the gods of heaven, the army of Trời to punish the rebellious gods. Ngọc Hoàng also has a family, a wife, and children.
Ngọc Hoàng's wife is Tây Vương Mẫu, in Côn Lôn mountain, the world of fairies, with a herd of fairies. Tây Vương Mẫu has a garden of Bàn Đào, the fruit ripens once every three thousand years, when eaten, it gives birth to immortality, often used to prepare feasts for the gods in the heaven. Tây Vương Mẫu is a woman of outstanding beauty, with three blue birds specializing in finding food for Vương Mẫu, turning into a flock of beautiful and graceful maids.
The Ngọc Hoàng is always dressed in imperial attire, a shirt embroidered with a golden dragon, a hat with red tassels on his head, leading thirteen five-colored pearls, and holding hốt in hand. The Ngọc Hoàng sits on the throne to touch the dragon each time he meets the dynasty, deals with things in heaven or on earth. On the left and right side of Ngọc Hoàng, there are gods of heaven waiting for the Ngọc Hoàng to command. Heaven is divided into nine levels, some say it's thirty-three, and the gods are more or less related to each other according to their titles and relationships. Ngọc Hoàng is the highest rank, in the first floor.[1][2][3]
Some other versions say that Thần Trụ Trời and Ông Trời are one.[4]
Worship
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He is worshiped all over Vietnam, there are many temples and shrines dedicated to him. In South and Central Vietnam, families often worship him at an outdoor altar called Bàn Thiên.[5]
In popular culture
Television program
An interjection used in Vietnamese "Trời ơi!" (hey heavenly (lord)) is often translated into English as "for goodness' sake!" or "dear God!" or "what the heck!".
See also
Counterparts of Ông Trời in other cultures
- Para Brahman, the Hindu counterpart
- Jade Emperor, the Chinese counterpart
- Adi Buddha, the Esoteric Buddhist counterpart
- Yuanshi Tianzun, the Taoist counterpart
- Monad, the Gnostic counterpart
- Yahweh or Jehovah (referred as Allah ("the god") in Arabic), the Abrahamic counterpart
- Amenominakanushi, the Japanese counterpart
- Haneullim, the Korean counterpart
References
- ^ "Thần thoại Ông Trời - Thần thoại Việt Nam" [Mythology of Ông Trời - Vietnamese Mythology] (in Vietnamese). TruyệnXưaTíchCũ.com. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
- ^ Oxford Companion to World Mythology. Oxford University Press. 2009. p. 394. ISBN 978-0195387087.
- ^ Tuyển tập văn chương nhi đồng: Thần thoại (Việt-Nam, Trung-Hoa, Nhật-Bản, Đại-Dương. Sáng tạo. 1969.
- ^ [1] Ngọc Hoàng Thượng Đế: Thần tích Vua cha Ngọc Hoàng - Tín ngưỡng Việt
- ^ Tục thờ Thông Thiên Báo Người Lao Động 02/08/2011