Survey of magical fairy tales of the Mong people circulating in Yen Bai - 6

It can be said that the construction of the motif of two opposing character lines like this in magical fairy tales reflects the conflict between two opposing forces in Mong society at that time; at the same time, it also expresses the aspiration of the working people to have a prosperous, free, peaceful and happy life.

So why are there so many orphan characters in the magical fairy tales of the Mong people circulating in Yen Bai? Through the research process, we found that: primitive tribal society shifted to small families, the regime

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Monogamy has made it impossible for many members of the community to find their own families. Children who previously only knew their birth mothers are now abandoned when society rearranges families, making them orphans. Through the collected sources, we affirm that the culture of the Mong people is a culture of migration. During the migration from Guizhou (China) to Lao Cai, Bac Ha, Pho Lu, SaPa, Than Uyen, Van Ban, Mu Cang Chai, Tram Tau... due to the distance of space and time, many children were lost. Thus, a whole class of people are called orphans - an inevitable consequence of social change - and those abandoned, homeless people are considered by Mong folk tales as suffering, unfortunate victims who need to be cared for and shared.

In our opinion, the orphan story also reflects conflicts within the family, mainly about inheritance and private property. Moral issues are just the manifestation and result of those actions. From family issues, fairy tales reflect social issues. However, due to limited awareness, folk authors cannot explain social issues but only solve them within each family and in each specific case.

Through the orphan characters, we see that the Mong people's concept originates from folk beliefs. They believe that living a good life will bring good things, changing their fate, living an evil life will bring bad things or become animals living in the forest, sometimes being punished by heaven... very similar to the concept of Kinh people and Buddhism "good people will be rewarded with good things", "evil people will be punished with evil". That is also the dream of justice and social equality. What is noteworthy is that: Mong folk authors deeply understand the dreams and legitimate aspirations of the working people, so the fairy tales about orphans have clarified the issue of good overcoming evil, the good overcoming the bad. Goodness must be cherished, passed down, and

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exalted. Good people must be trusted, enjoy prosperity and happiness. Evil must be punished appropriately. That is the clear, decisive attitude, the righteous stance of the working people.

2.1.2. Story about the younger brother

Fairy tales often tell stories about events that happen in people's family and social life. These can be conflicts between members of a patriarchal family, love and marriage issues, and social relationships. In other words, the main content of fairy tales is social life and human destiny. The story about the younger brother clearly shows that.

It can be said that the main problem that the stories about the younger brother mentioned through the conflict between siblings with the right to inheritance. This problem is related to the time of birth of fairy tales. When the clan system disintegrated, the patriarchal family gradually replaced the matriarchal family. Society was formed according to a new model, small, individual families. As a result, the number of redundant people in society increased, becoming victims of society. In addition to orphans and servants in society, many conflicts also arose in each family. The power in the family now belonged to the father, the right to inheritance in the family now belonged to the eldest brother (previously in the clan family, the younger child later lived with the mother and inherited the mother's property). The sudden change in power and inheritance made family members confused, bewildered and clashed with each other. Such problems of life have posed new tasks in fairy tales, requiring timely reflection and resolution of those conflicts.

The plot of the younger brother type of story is usually very simple and often repetitive, in the term called "convergent structure". That means the story builds two characters into two parallel lines, opposing each other. The plot often follows a unified model:

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The two brothers became orphans;

The eldest brother took all the property, the younger brother only got a very small share;

The younger brother worked hard and was kind, so he had enough to live on;

The younger brother helps those around him;

The younger brother was rewarded, became rich, and had status;

The elder brother saw that and suggested changing positions with the younger brother;

The elder brother imitated his younger brother but because of his bad intentions, he had to pay the price.

In the magical fairy tales of the Mong people circulating in Yen Bai, there are 2 stories about the younger brother (accounting for 8.33%). The younger brother characters in magical fairy tales are all orphans. They live with their older brother or sister-in-law in a patriarchal family. The younger brother is often treated very cruelly and unfairly. They have to do a lot of hard work but enjoy very little wealth. However, the younger brother in magical fairy tales rarely complains about his fate. They always consider the work they have to do as their duty and obligation. A So in the story of Chua Thênh and A So lost his parents early. His older brother, Chua Thênh, took over all the houses, buffaloes, horses, pigs, chickens and fields . Although he was young, A So was treated like a servant by his older brother. He had to sleep alone in a cold hut to watch out for wild animals during the rice and corn harvest seasons. Chua Thênh also often beat A So until his body was swollen and made him hungry and ragged . Despite that, A So still worked hard without blaming his older brother.

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The character A Xang in the story A Xang is also an orphan. Because his brother went to work far away, A Xang had to live with his lazy sister-in-law. He had to take care of everything in the family, from farming to gardening, from food to drink. The sun was scorching hot, both his towels and clothes were soaked with sweat, but A Xang still worked tirelessly from one end of the field to the other . Although the corn and rice that followed A Xang home filled the floor, his sister-in-law only fed him bitter rice flour - a type of barley with a hard shell. In his saddest moments, A Xang could only look up to the sky and complain a few sentences, not using his words and actions to protest against his greedy, selfish sister-in-law.

Because of his hard work and kindness, the younger brother often receives help from those around him, they are rewarded and become rich. Notably, the characters who help orphans are often supernatural forces such as Xeng Lau, Tien Nu, Long Vuong, mountain gods, talented animals... When catching a fox stealing fish, A So in the story of Chua Thênh and A So not only did not kill the fox and dry it to bring back to his brother as food, but also gave the fox cold rice and grilled fish to eat until he was full . It was cold, A So also put a warm coat on the fox and hugged it to wade across the stream. Feeling his kindness, the fox said: "... You don't have parents, neither do I. I know how to sing, how to dance. I will follow you to dance and sing to earn money, then life will be happy" . The fox's actions later helped A So have "a luxurious house, full of wealth" . Even after his death, the fox still helped A So, making him richer and richer. The fox's head bone was used as a ladle to scoop pig feed, making A So's pigs grow very quickly; the comb made from the fox's head bone helped A So's hair grow quickly, shiny and silky, so he had hair to sell every day; the fish hook made from the fox's head bone helped A So catch a lot of fish, selling it for a lot of money. A So's kindness was not only shown by cherishing and respecting the fox and the souvenirs made from the fox's bones, but also by the love he had for his brother. Even though he knew Chua Thênh had a bad temper,

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Although he had a bad temper, whenever he needed help, A So always helped enthusiastically: from lending a fox, a ladle to scoop pig feed to lending a comb, a fishhook. A So's kindness was also shown through curing the Dragon King's sore throat, for which he was given a magic flower umbrella. When the goblin kidnapped his beautiful wife, the mountain god showed him the way and took A So to find his wife. He was also shown the way by an eagle to the eagle's cave so he could go in and save his wife. A So also used a jade stone to cure people in the area without taking money, so everyone loved him. In the story of A Xang, we see the life of the brother-in-law suffering so much bitterness and humiliation. Too miserable, A Xang only knew how to lament his fate alone, his words reached the heavens. Xeng Lau sent his daughter down to earth to be his companion and help A Xang have a happy and wealthy life.

However, to have a beautiful wife, lots of gold and silver and a happy life, the orphan character also has to go through many difficulties and challenges. A Xang in the story of A Xang had to personally make a long sword, sharpen it until it was very sharp, the sword was shiny like a mirror , when he swung the sword horizontally , the cow's four legs were cut off, the cow fell onto the grass . A Xang had to go through the ordeal of fighting an evil tiger, he used a magic sword to cut off its neck to reach Tong. According to the mountain god, for a whole year, A So in the story of A So had to find enough fox skin to make clothes to be eligible to find a wife; he had to overcome steep cliffs, defeat the goblin in a flute dancing competition to save his beloved wife.

Opposing the main character line is always the villain line. These two character lines are always placed parallel to each other by folk authors to highlight the character traits of the characters. If the main character is a good-natured, hard-working, honest, kind, and good-natured younger brother, the villain is often lazy, selfish, greedy, cruel,

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evil. These are the elder brothers and sisters-in-law who rely on their power and influence to exploit the labor of their younger brothers. They are the embodiment of evil. Although he made all the wealth in the family, A Xang in the story of A Xang only needed a bull and a roll of flax to test his sword - the weapon that Miss Tong requested - but his stingy sister-in-law gave many reasons to refuse because she did not want to lose anything. It was not until Ri Gang - A Xang's friend - gave the Mong people's reasoning that the sister-in-law agreed. The character Chua Thênh in the story of Chua Thênh and A So is the embodiment of greed. When Chua Thênh heard rumors that A So's life had now "become quite prosperous... luxurious house, full of wealth", he pretended to regret and borrowed his brother's fox to make money. In addition to his greed, Chua Thênh also revealed his stingy, cruel and evil nature. He "did not give the fox enough food and water, and when he walked, he tied a rope around its neck and dragged it across streams and through dense forests" . Without the fox's help, Chua Thênh used a stick to beat the fox to death and then threw the body into the field. When he could not achieve his goal, Chua Thênh's crimes increased day by day. He then carried out a series of actions: throwing the fox's skull into the fire -> breaking the fox's skull comb and throwing it into the fire.

At the end of the story, the villains - the bad, the evil - are always punished appropriately. Because of fear of being punished, A Xang's sister-in-law in the story of A Xang fled into the deep forest, turned into an ape and was shot dead. The bandits from the neighboring country who came to harass and rob land were also suppressed by the magic swords of A Xang and Ri Gang. After committing so many crimes, A So's older brother in the story of Chua Thênh and A So " ran home in fear, got a fever, went to bed and groaned" and never got up again. The evil goblin was finally bitten to death by a tiger. With the above details, we see that the stories of Chua Thênh and A So strictly followed the model of "convergent structure".

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