Vietnam: Tấm and Cám by Jenny Tran

The Story of Tấm and Cám: Origin

jt89942 — 2024-11-01 06:52:10 UTC

The Vietnamese folktale, Tấm and Cám, originates from ancient Vietnam. Its original author is unknown, however, various other creators began republishing it throughout the 1900s and continue to do so today. Since then, the story has stayed relevant despite existing for numerous centuries.

Summary of Tấm and Cám

jt89942 — 2024-11-02 03:43:30 UTC

Centuries long ago lived a beautiful, youthful girl named Tấm, whose mother passed away. Her father eventually fell in love with her wicked stepmother, who gave birth to Tấm's sister, Cám. As a result of Cám's jealousy of her father's attention towards Tấm, the step-mother began to treat Tấm like the family's servant. Tấm would be constantly told to do chores around the house all day and night. Despite the extreme conditions she withstood, she remained the gorgeous girl she was. To get rid of Tấm, the stepmother sent the sisters to catch the most fish to get red Áo yếm silk. When Cám realizes she was at a disadvantage for slacking off, she tricks Tấm into switching fish baskets, causing her to cry. When Tấm realizes an entity is in her presence, she glances up to see the Goddess of Mercy before her, telling Tấm to take care of a golden fish for guidance in return. As she obeyed the Goddess, she took care of the fish. Eventually, the stepmother was irked by the discovery of the fish and cooked it. Upon finding the news, Tấm was devastated, causing the Goddess of Mercy to appear once again. The goddess instructs Tấm to bury the bones in a jar, in which she obeyed.

After some time, the day of the ball arrives, which was hosted by the King. The stepmother and Cám decide to make Tấm stay home to organize the black and green beans, leaving her troubled. Witnessing the devastating situation, the Goddess of Mercy appears again and casts magic, turning the flies into sparrows, who helped sort the beans for Tấm. Opening the jars of fish bones, Tấm discovers a silk dress and slippers. Outside, a royal chariot awaited her, where she was brought to the ball in. On the same night, she drops the slipper in the river, however, upon making its way to the palace, the King declares the owner of the slipper to be his bride. In a rush, Tấm makes her way to the palace, where the King rules her to be his bride.

In discovery of the news, Cám becomes deeply jealous of her sister, causing her to get rid of Tấm by tricking her to gather nuts for the father's altar, and chops the tree down, where Tấm falls to her death. Shortly after her death, she reincarnates into a Nightingale, who is also murdered by her sister, but is given a second chance to reincarnate into a tree. She eventually makes her way back to the king again, producing a golden fruit that manifests herself back into her human form again. To take revenge, Tấm tricks her sister to jumping into a basin of extremely hot water, killing her sister in the process. Upon finding out about Cám's death, the stepmother wailed until she turned blind. In the end, Tấm and the King live happily ever after in the palace.

Similarities With "Cinderella"

jt89942 — 2024-11-02 04:38:44 UTC

In both stories, the step-sisters are antagonists. They mistreat the protagonist, leaving the character to do chores against their will.
The setting also takes place in a royal setting. The resolution takes place in a palace, where the main character gets a happy ending.
A higher being is present in both tales. Both beings help the main character triumph over the antagonists.
There is a romantic interest for both folktales. Both have a royal member who take interest in the protagonist.

In Contrast To "Cinderella"

jt89942 — 2024-11-02 04:41:52 UTC

In Tấm and Cám, there is a king, however, in Cinderella, there is a prince. There is a difference in royal status between the love interests.
There is a difference in transportation. In Cinderella, there is a pumpkin carriage, but in Tấm and Cám, there is a royal chariot.
In Tấm and Cám, the hatred towards the protagonist is more brutal, as the step-sister attempts to murder the main character multiple times. In Cinderella, the step-sisters mistreat Cinderella by leaving her out and verbally insulting her.
There is also a unique cultural perspective to Tấm and Cám, as it consists of Vietnam culture, including Áo yếm silk, which is silk for Vietnamese traditional clothing. In Cinderella, it partakes in French culture, where Cinderella's name translates to "Little ashes" in French.

The Cultural Aspect of Tấm and Cám: Traditional Clothing

jt89942 — 2024-11-02 04:55:38 UTC

In the story, the stepmother makes the sisters compete for red Ao yếm silk. In Vietnamese culture, Ao yếm is worn as a traditional top, which is worn by all social classes. It continues to be used up to this day as outerwear.

The Cultural Aspect of Tấm and Cám: Goddess of Mercy

jt89942 — 2024-11-02 04:57:02 UTC

In Tấm and Cám, the Goddess of Mercy appears before Tấm to aid in her conflicts with her stepmother and stepsister. In Vietnam, the Goddess of Mercy is called "Quan Âm." The Goddess is present in many asian cultures, but in Vietnam, many Catholics worship Quan Âm to nurture their ethics.

The Cultural Aspect of Tấm and Cám: Reincarnation

jt89942 — 2024-11-02 05:15:00 UTC

Towards the resolution, Tấm reincarnates into a nightingale and a tree. In Vietnamese culture, Buddhism is heavily present in its religious elements. In Buddhism, there are many possible locations of where a person can go after death. One of the many places includes a new life, also known as reincarnation.

Moral of the Story

jt89942 — 2024-11-02 05:25:57 UTC

The lesson learned in Tấm and Cám is that you should always stand your ground. In the story, the stepsister continuously attempts to bring Tấm down. Throughout the story, she refuses to take any action, making her an easy target to take advantage of. Nevertheless, she takes revenge by tricking her sister into burning herself to death by jumping in a hot basin to achieve fair skin. The triumph was not attained until Tấm got rid of her sister. Overall, it is essential to stand up for yourself, as you can not escape every situation by simply dismissing people's faults.

Multimedia: Song

jt89942 — 2024-11-02 06:05:50 UTC

In Beabadoobee's song, "See You Soon," she depicts the importance of realizing her own mistakes to grow. In two of her lines, she says: "I need time to grow and to exist... Let you know I'm safe."

Similarly, in Tấm and Cám, the protagonist, Tấm is murdered shortly after her marriage with the King. Before the incident, her sister, Cám, hated her, however, Tấm did not take any actions to defend herself. Her simple mistake would lead her to be murdered once again after her reincarnation into a nightingale. Upon the situation happening to her, she manifests herself into becoming her human form again, in which she finally takes revenge after dismissing the incidents multiple times.

Despite being away from the king, she continues to show up to the king's place as a reincarnated form of life. She continues to exist, however, during the time of her multiple reincarnations, she grows to learn that she should do something to put her sister's actions to a stop. Furthermore, she lets the king knows she is safe by being in his proximity at all times throughout her reincarnation.