THE PORCELAIN DRAGON
Vietnamese Dragon - Avatar - The God of Rain
“The myth is not dead in modern life.”
“Myths are clues to our deepest spiritual potential”
Joseph Campbell - American mythologist
"The Power of Myth"
INSPIRATION
Dragon has long been the legendary animal of oriented countries. And in Asian myths, no creature is as impressive as the dragon. But while all those countries under the past influence of Chinese culture have in common the myth of the dragon, none of them have gone so far as the Vietnamese do, to worship dragon as their God, their ancestor and to give its capital the name of this mythical animal.
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THE VIETNAMESE DRAGON
The Premise
Vietnamese dragons are symbolic creatures in the folklore and mythology of Vietnam. According to an ancient origin myth, the Vietnamese people are descended from a dragon and a fairy.
Initially, dragons in Vietnam were associated with water and Yin energy. For Vietnamese people, the dragon was a vivid symbol of the fourfold deity - clouds, rain, thunder and lighting. The dragon acts as our God because it brings rain, essential for agriculture, by taking water from the sea to pour down on the rice paddies. The dragon dance, a great favorite among people from all walks of life, was used to invoke rain.
Moreover, it also represents the emperor, the prosperity and power of the nation. Unlike the Chinese dragons, which were shown descending from heaven and spitting fire, the Vietnamese dragons were shown ascending from the water. Though imposing and fierce, the Vietnamese dragons were never threatening.
"The use of avatars in digital environments is particularly interesting because the term “avatar” has been borrowed from Hindu mythology, where it indicated the incarnation/manifestation of a god (or goddess).
The avatar was independent from the god/goddess, but also constantly participating in his/her real (divine) nature; this is somewhat analogous to the relationship between the embodied player, who is in an actual place, controls his/her avatar, and watches it while it moves in a digital “space”—separated from, though connected to, the person it represents."
By Maria Beatrice Bittarello, Independent Researcher
"Another Time, Another Space: Virtual Worlds, Myths and Imagination"
DRAGON AS THE AVATAR
2 versions: a character avatar to be observed from the outside; and a 1st person user avatar
A. CHARACTER AVATER TO BE OBSERVED FROM THE OUTSIDE
Inspired by the folklore and mythology of Vietnam, the Avatar Dragon will be able to perform its ability as The God of Rain: having the power of forming clouds and creating rain.
The avatar will perform a set of activities including roaming and creating visible breath which turns into clouds. Then surrounding with that steamy and cloudy atmosphere, it inhales all of that steaminess, and finally be able to release rain through its mouth.
Additional items: clouds, thunders, lighting, rain,...
B. THE FIRST PERSON USER AVATAR:
The player will be able to inhibit the body of this mythical creature and experience what it feels like to move in dragon motion: swirling movement, drawing an “e” italic in the sky.
How: players will be able to move the heads and the two hands of the dragon freely, but most stand still on their feet. The motion of the dragon will depend on the movement of the player’s hips; the player will stand vertically, but the dragon will move horizontally, and all of the hip’s movement will determine how “swirly” the dragon moves.
"...the ability to “park” the flawed human body, to transcend the limits of the flesh, to create and explore new identities, to be free the body from social and physical constraint and so on and so forth."
By Maria Beatrice Bittarello, Independent Researcher
Another Time, Another Space: Virtual Worlds, Myths and Imagination
MEANING
OF THE VIRTUAL EMBODIMENT
As human, we are limited to specific body movements, because of our nature-born body structure. We can only observe how this mythical creature moves and fly in movies, we see its ability to move freely in space by having a very flexible body. But we never have the chance to experience how it feels like to have that power and that flexibility. By inhibiting the body of the dragon, which is similar to a snake, players are able to free their body from ordinary movements and have to actively use their hips to control the body movements. This will create a fun and interesting experience, similar to dancing and shaking our hips. This will may be able to "transcend the limits of the flesh", and free the body from physical constraint.
This virtual embodiment also has the potential to provide an understanding of and an appreciation for traditional values, especially for Vietnamese youth who are increasingly exposed to various sources of information and entertainment. As local myths and legends give us insights into local history and beliefs, people get a sense of where they come from and where they belong from the local legends. This project which centres around the Dragon- the Goddess mythical creature, aims to remind Vietnamese people about their mythical ancestors and introduce a more eccentric part of Vietnamese culture to friends from different countries.
The research that I have conducted for this project could be found here.