Vanho

Vanho
File:Vanho.jpg A depiction of Vanho
Goddess of the Ocean
Transliterations	忞和 (Ventzi) Ванxо (Shintzi)
Religion	Namorese folk religion (Txoism)
Parents	Songte (father) Vangmu (mother)
Siblings	Nushen Yenfang
Weapon	Rija (solar harpoon)
Consort	Jin and 18 other husbands
Children	72 (36 from Jin and 36 from Vanho's 18 other husbands)
Texts	Nushenshi
Region	Nan (Southern Nozama River Valley)
Height	8 chi (2.66 m)

Vanho (Ванхo, 忞和), known in Minjianese as Minhe, is the Goddess of the Ocean and the first monarch of the Nan peoples - a collection of ancient tribes that inhabited the southern Nozama River Valley.

The second eldest daughter of Songte, Vanho was given the birth name of Rong (Ронг, 張榮). Later, she would be given the surname Tzang (張) in recognition of her role in the war against the demon usurper Teyu. Like her sisters Nushen and Yenfang, Vanho was born in captivity but subsequently banished to the mortal world. The sisters were raised as warriors by the archer Shenji Jolen and sent to defeat the demons, only to break up when Vanho joined merchant Jin in becoming a pirate. Vanho reunited with Nushen after she was captured during an attempted raid on a coastal village. She eventually regained Nushen's trust by defeating the dragon Hoirung, an ally of Teyu, in the ocean.

After the war, Vanho was rewarded control of the lower Nozama River Valley, where she became the chieftain of the Nan peoples. According to legend, Vanho quelled a great flood by placing a heavy rock on a ground that turned into a hill, before building a pavilion on the hill, thereby founding the city of Namo. Vanho ruled for nearly a hundred years before her pursuit of the sun goddess Rishen ended in her return to heaven.

Vanho is widely worshiped as a tutelary deity in the southern coast of Namor. In Namorese tradition, she is venerated as the ancestor of the Nan peoples, whose descendants include the Minjianese and some Kannei Namorese, and the Jinites, from whom some Overseas Namorese claim descent.

Mythology

A statue of Vanho in Xiangmen, Minjian

Most myths concerning Vanho's upbringings are found in the Nushenshi, in which Nushen is the primary protagonist. The mythology of Vanho was later expanded by folklore supposedly composed to give greater detail to Vanho's life.

Vanho, Nushen, and Yenfang were born to Songte and Vangmu in captivity. Teyu was informed by his soothsayers that he would eventually be killed by Nushen; determined to avoid this fate, he abandoned the three sisters in the mortal world, where they were found by villagers and raised in the remote countryside. Not so long after, the exiled archer Shenji Jolen took the sisters into his custody and trained them to become warriors. After their training ended, the sisters were released to the outside world to kill the false queen Nali.

Turn to piracy

The sisters never reached their destination together. On the route to Nali, Vanho fell in love with Jin, a merchant who was obsessed with wealth. Jin persuaded Vanho to join him by the ocean, and Vanho left her sisters despite opposition from Nushen. Vanho gave birth to 36 children, whose descendants became the Jinites.

Vanho and Jin spent their time together building and selling ships, only to turn to piracy later. According to the Nushenshi, neither Jin nor Vanho had any interest in piracy until the two were attacked by bandits who wanted to take their ships for free. Jin realized the profitability of stealing and decided to raise a pirate fleet, while Vanho, out of a desire to protect her lover, concurred. Using their shipbuilding skills, Vanho and Jin recruited their sons as pirates and terrorized coastal inhabitants and earn wealth.

Vanho's life as a pirate continued for years until the inhabitants of the coast called on Nushen, who had become queen of Nozama, to defeat the pirates. Nushen spotted Vanho arriving onshore to raid a village, captured her, and sentenced her to death. The sentenced caused an uproar among her subjects, who pleaded with Nushen to spare the life of her own sister. The situation was finally resolved when Ninshen, Nushen's stepsister, intervened on Vanho's behalf and convinced Nushen that Vanho could still fulfill her mission to defeat Teyu. Nushen spared Vanho on the condition that she remained loyal to Songte. As a sign of loyalty to Nushen, Vanho killed Jin and banished her children from Nozama.

War with Hoirung and redemption

<imgur thumb="yes" w="300" comment="Vanho kills Hoirung with her Rija, the solar harpoon">MqlBNs8.jpg?1</imgur> To test Vanho's loyalty, Nushen ordered Vanho to slay Hoirung, a dragon in the Western Ocean who had joined forces with Teyu.

Vanho defeated every sea monster under Hoirung's command but was unable to kill Hoirung with any of the weapons she had in possession. The sun goddess Rishen came to Vanho's aid by giving her the Rija, a solar harpoon whose tip carried the power of the sun. She explained that while Hoirung had been blessed with protection from all weapons, he was still vulnerable from exposure to direct sunlight, forcing him to live underwater.

Using the Rija, Vanho quickly gained the upper hand in the battle and killed Hoirung. She ate Hoirung's body and presented his head to Nushen as a gift. In turn, Nushen considered Vanho to be redeemed and promoted her to the rank of marshal.

Chieftain of the Nan

After Teyu was killed and the gods returned to power, Vanho was rewarded control of the lower Nozama River Valley. The inhabitants of the area became known as the Nan, with Vanho as their first chieftain. Vanho practiced polyandry, marrying 18 men and giving birth to another 36 children.

Founding of Namo

The Golden Rock of Vanho and the Southern Pavilion on Kinto Mountain, Namo

Vanho is the regarded as the legendary founder of the city of Namo. The name Namo, meaning "Southern Pavilion," is believed to have come from a temple of the same name that was built to commemorate the Golden Rock of Vanho on Kinto Mountain.

It is said that before Vanho built the pavilion, the Nozama River Delta was hit by a great flood that forced locals to move inland. Vanho traveled far and wide for advice on how to control the flood. She came across a sage who told her about a massive golden rock in the depths of the ocean that could force the flood to subside if brought on land.

Vanho dove into the ocean, where she found the rock and placed it on the peak of Kinto Mountain, the only place on land that had not been submerged by the flood because of its elevation. The rock was so heavy that it suppressed the flood.

To celebrate Vanho's feat, the Nan built a temple on top of the rock called the Southern Pavilion, or Namo. The Southern Pavilion is said to be the first building in the city of Namo and is nowadays considered to be one of the holiest sites in Txoism.

Departure from Earth

As the daughters of Songte stayed in the mortal world, the gods became worried that their influence would eclipse that of Songte's. They appealed to Sikun, the Lord of Time, to bring the daughters back to their heavenly abodes. Sikun instructed Rishen to take back the solar harpoon Rija which she had lent to Vanho to slay Hoirung.

While Vanho was fishing, Rishen sent a phoenix to retrieve the Rija. Vanho caught sight of the phoenix and tried to capture it with the Rija, but the phoenix entrapped the Rija in her beak, wrestled it from Vanho and returned to Rishen. An enraged Vanho asked Rishen to return the Rija. Rishen offered to let Vanho keep the Rija if she reclaimed it; however, if Vanho failed to retrieve the Rija, she would go to heaven to satisfy the gods.

Vanho pursued Rishen from the eastern edge of the world to the western edge, drinking from rivers and lakes until they were empty and flattening anything that posed an obstacle to her pursuit. By the time Vanho arrived at Rishen's abode in the western side of the world, she was exhausted from heat and thirst. Vanho conceded to Rishen and ascended to heaven. Prior to her departure, Vanho divided her realm between her latter 36 children.

In some versions of the tale, Rishen rewarded Vanho for keeping her oath by returning the Rija to her and granting her descendants inheritance to the Nozama River Valley. According to Namorese tradition, the historical kingdom of Kanamora was founded by the Nan.

Abilities

<imgur thumb="yes" w="250" comment="Artist's portrayal of Vanho">HNG3qBB.jpg</imgur> Like the other sister-goddesses, Vanho possessed many supernatural powers. The Nushenshi describes Vanho as an imposing figure with a height of 8 chi (2.66 meters or 8.7 feet), making her slightly shorter than Nushen and taller than Yenfang. While Nushen is identified by her long arms, Vanho is identified by her long legs and thighs that the Nushenshi described to be as thick as a tree.

Vanho is known for her ability to maneuver in the water. She boasted of her ability to swim faster than all sea creatures, subdue dragons underwater and stirring up typhoons - all of which she did while fighting Hoirung.

Despite Vanho's strengths, mythologists and ancient historians considered her to be wanting as a ruler. Legends suggested Vanho was arrogant, boasting of her strengths before demonstrating them to prove her own point. Vanho was finally humbled after being defeated and wounded by Rishen. The ancient Namorese attributed the regular occurrence of typhoons and tidal waves to Vanho's desire to flaunt her power.

Worship

The Temple of Vanho in Yucheng, Minjian

Vanho is widely worshiped in southwestern Namor, where her kingdom was supposedly situated. Thousands of temples dedicated to Vanho can be found in Southern Namor, Minjian, and Peitoa, where many locals claim to be descendants of the Nan people whom Vanho led. The ethnic Minjianese, Khao, and Tojavese all claim descent from the Nan and venerate Vanho as their first monarch.

The Zao, a Kannei people distinguished by their seafaring lifestyle, and some Namorese living overseas traditionally claim descent from the Jinites, descendants of the first 36 children of Vanho and Jin.