The tale of Sơn Tinh and Thủy Tinh has long been more than just a myth about a battle between two gods; it’s a mirror reflecting the unique culture and customs of the ancient Vietnamese people. Most notable among these is the custom of the marriage challenge (thách cưới). Hùng King, in his role as a father, set forth a list of wedding gifts that we would now call a “marriage challenge”. These items served as a measure of the two suitors’s love and sincerity while also containing deep cultural values and stories about the rich natural world of the Vietnamese people.

Part 1: The Custom of the Marriage Challenge — The Origin of a War

In the story, Hùng King challenged Sơn Tinh and Thủy Tinh to bring a set of extraordinary bridal gifts: “One hundred trays of sticky rice, one hundred bundles of bánh chưng rice cakes, a nine-tusked elephant, a nine-spurred chicken and a horse with nine red manes.” These demands both demonstrated the king’s love for his daughter and served as a test to find the most worthy suitor.

• One hundred trays of sticky rice, one hundred bundles of bánh chưng: These traditional foods hold deep meaning. They symbolize a wet-rice civilization, closely tied to the agricultural life of the Vietnamese people. By demanding these items, Hùng King wanted to find a suitor capable of ensuring a life of warmth and prosperity for his daughter and all his people. At the same time, it was a reminder that even with divine power, a ruler must remain connected to the labor and production of their people.
• Nine-tusked elephant, Nine-spurred chicken, Horse with nine red manes: These animals were not chosen at random. Each one carries a deep symbolic meaning linked to Vietnamese culture and beliefs. The repeated number “nine” represents perfection, completeness and eternity. It also implies that to obtain these bridal gifts, a suitor must possess extraordinary power, enough to conquer the rarest and most powerful animals.

The story’s subtext reminds later generations of this ancient custom. The marriage challenge also had many other meanings and clearly reflected the social context of that time:

• • Strengthening the bond between the two families: The process of the marriage challenge and discussing the gifts was an opportunity for the two families to meet, exchange information, get to know each other and agree on their children’s marriage. This helped the families bond, find harmony and create a foundation for a long-lasting relationship.

  • Showing respect and gratitude: The bridal gifts served as the groom’s family’s thanks for the bride’s parents’ efforts in raising her. It demonstrated their respect and genuine intention to welcome the bride into their family.

  • A symbol of commitment and responsibility: The bridal gifts were also a way for the groom’s family to demonstrate their financial ability, prosperity and commitment to providing for and ensuring a good life for the bride.

Part 2: The Animal Kingdom – From Legend to Reality

Hùng King’s marriage challenge opens a door for us to explore the rich world of animals in Vietnamese language and culture. The animals mentioned in the bridal gifts—the elephant, chicken and horse—are not just familiar creatures from daily life; they also carry special meanings when used in idioms, proverbs, and folklore.

The Elephant In Vietnamese, the elephant is a symbol of strength, grandeur and authority. The elephant’s image is also closely linked to the nation’s military history, with the war elephants of the Trưng Sisters and the battle elephants of kings during the Lý, Trần, Tây Sơn and Nguyễn dynasties. Ivory is a precious item that symbolizes wealth, power and rarity. We have metaphorical sayings like:

• • “Thầy bói xem voi” (The blind men and the elephant) which describes a situation where people form a conclusion based on incomplete information.
  • “Đầu voi, đuôi chuột” (An elephant’s head, a mouse’s tail), used for something that starts off big and impressive but ends up being small and disappointing.
  • “Lên voi xuống chó” (To ride an elephant, to get off a dog) which describes someone who has a great rise to power followed by a swift fall. 

The Chicken The chicken is one of the most familiar animals in Vietnamese life. The rooster symbolizes valor and the hen symbolizes fertility and abundance. In folklore, the chicken is often associated with luck and prosperity. It also appears in many idioms such as:

• • “Gà đẻ trứng vàng” (A chicken laying golden eggs), referring to a source of great and consistent wealth.
  • “Gà trống nuôi con” (A rooster raising chicks), a term for a single father.
  • “Gà cùng một mẹ, chớ hoài đá nhau” (Chickens from the same mother should not fight each other), a proverb encouraging harmony among siblings or people from the same group.

The Horse The horse is a symbol of valor, speed, and freedom. In history, the horse is linked to heroic figures, like Thánh Gióng’s iron horse and the warhorses of generals. Common idioms about horses include:

• • “Một con ngựa đau, cả tàu bỏ cỏ” (When one horse is in pain, the whole stable stops eating grass), a proverb about empathy and solidarity.
  • “Cưỡi ngựa xem hoa” (To ride a horse and look at flowers) which means doing something superficially.
  • “Ngưu tầm ngưu mã tầm mã” (Cows look for cows, horses look for horses), the Vietnamese equivalent of “birds of a feather flock together.

The richness of the Vietnamese language is not only in its vocabulary but also in its ability to create unique and sometimes surprising metaphorical images. One of these traits is the practice of using the names of land animals to describe aquatic animals, based on similarities in their shape, color, or behavior.

This makes the language more familiar and easier for speakers to visualize, while also demonstrating the subtle observation skills and creativity of the Vietnamese people, who make it possible for land animals to “go to sea” and swim.

• The Whale (Cá voi): The elephant (voi) is a gigantic, powerful and majestic land animal. Therefore, the Vietnamese used the word “elephant” to name the largest animal in the ocean. The name cá voi (literally “elephant fish”) not only highlights its immense size but also creates a simple, intuitive comparison.

• The Barred Soapfish (Cá sơn gà): This is a rare fish that is highly favored by many fishermen in Vietnam, especially in the waters of Nha Trang. The reason for its name is because its meat is delicious, tender, sweet, and pure white, often compared to chicken meat (thịt gà). These fish are small, live in coral reefs and are often prepared into special dishes like sour soup with lá giang leaves, fish porridge or deep-fried fish.

• The Seahorse (Cá ngựa): This fish has a unique, curved shape, with a head and neck that look just like a horse’s. The name cá ngựa (literally “horse fish”) not only accurately describes its shape but also evokes a charming and unique association.

The richness of the Vietnamese language lies in these seemingly unrelated connections, which create a linguistic system that is both highly expressive and incredibly vivid and close to everyday life.

Part 3: The English Translation of the Bridal Gifts’ Names

When we translate the names of the terrestrial animals from the Vietnamese naming formula—“Fish + Terrestrial Animal”—into English, we find a difference in naming conventions between Vietnamese and Western cultures but some interesting similarities.

• The Elephant: In English, an elephant is called an “elephant” but a whale is simply a whale, not an “elephant-fish.” However, a type of fish called an elephantfish does exist, though its size doesn’t reflect the grandeur implied by the name. This fish is named for its long snout which resembles an elephant’s trunk, showing the keen observation of Westerners when comparing the fish’s features to a land animal. This approach is similar to how we created the names cá voi (literally “elephant fish”) or cá ngựa (“horse fish”).

• The Rooster: A rooster is a land animal, but the Cá Sơn Gà is a Barred soapfish. The English term roosterfish exists, but it refers to a completely different species. The roosterfish gets its name from its long, high dorsal fin that looks like a rooster’s comb, completely unrelated to the fish’s quality as food in the Vietnamese name.

• The Horse: Among the three animals, the horse is perhaps the most direct translation as the English name for cá ngựa is seahorse. This name accurately describes the fish’s shape, with its head and neck resembling a horse. The name is common and easily understood worldwide, showing a similarity in how different cultures perceive nature.

A few other aquatic animals also have interesting names, such as catfish (cá trê), because they have long whiskers like a cat’s, and starfish (sao biển), because of their star-like shape. This shows the richness and creativity of language, as humans constantly find ways to compare and name the natural world around them.

Part 4: The Bridal Gifts in English – Names and Meanings

Finally, the story of the marriage challenge gifts goes beyond myth, inspiring us to learn about real-world animals that share characteristics with these legendary creatures. The use of names like Gomphothere, Chincuake (Chín cựa kê) and Quagga in the English version of the Cờ Đông Sơn carries a profound meaning for several logical reasons. This naming system avoids redundancy and unwanted controversies, while also showing consistency in the game’s vocabulary.

Honoring and Inheriting the Legend

• Chincuake is the name for the Chicken piece in the English version, instead of “Rooster.” This name elevates the piece’s unique and exotic nature while honoring a mythical image from Vietnamese folklore. The nine-spurred chicken is a living symbol—a real breed of chicken from Phú Thọ famous in the Sơn Tinh-Thủy Tinh legend—representing rare, sacred, and challenging values. By preserving this name, the Cờ Đông Sơn directly connects to the folktale, creating a deep layer of cultural meaning that “Rooster” cannot convey. This name shows respect for a noble symbol of the nation.

Connecting with History and Biology

• Gomphothere instead of “Elephant”: The Gomphothere was an extinct genus of ancient elephants known for their four characteristic long tusks. This name avoids redundancy with the word “Elephant” while also providing an educational value. It recalls the evolution of a real species from history, helping players, especially younger generations, learn about science and history. This name creates a connection between the legend (the nine-tusked elephant in the story) and a real biological entity from the past, adding depth to the chess piece.

• Quagga instead of “Horse”: The Quagga was a subspecies of zebra that became extinct due to human hunting in the late 19th century. Its unique appearance and coloring, with a reddish-brown hindquarters, make it a perfect fit for a creature considered a rare and precious bridal gift. This name is a direct and powerful reminder to future generations about the consequences of reckless actions. It carries a humanistic message about the responsibility of preservation, reminding people not to forget the immense losses that humanity has and continues to cause to the natural world.

Elevating Vietnamese Culture

By using names steeped in history and legend, this board game not only solves a technical issue—avoiding letter duplication—but also serves as an effective way to convey the spirit, history and culture of Vietnam to an international audience.

Instead of using common English words that are easily diluted, the unique names like Gomphothere, Chincuake and Quagga create a distinct identity and spark the curiosity of international players. They’ll have to research the origins of these names, and in doing so, they’ll discover human history and Vietnamese legends.

In short, the custom of the marriage challenge in the Sơn Tinh and Thủy Tinh story is more than just a cultural highlight. It’s a map that guides us deep into the natural world, from familiar animals to mythical ones, from the Vietnamese language to English and finally to real animals from history and science. It shows the strong connection between culture, language and the natural world, painting a comprehensive picture of the rich intellect and creativity of the Vietnamese people.