Lady Po Nagar

Lady Po Nagar (also known as Yan Po Nagar) was the legendary founder of the Cham people.

Her origins in the legend were humble, as she was born into a peasant family in Khánh Hòa Province, on the South central coast of Vietnam, and lived in the mountains.

 

She sailed on a piece of sandalwood across to China, surviving with the help of spirits at sea.

Once on Chinese shores, Lady Po Nagar met and married the Crown Prince of China, the son of the Emperor. Through her marriage Lady Po Nagar became the Queen of Champa and gave her husband two children.

 

However, life as Queen was not all perfect and Lady Po Nagar grew homesick. When she asked her husband if she could go home to visit her family, he refused. Not one to sit down and accept her fate, Lady Po Nagar threw a piece of sandalwood into the ocean and sailed away from China, taking her children with her.

 

Lady Po Nagar arrived back home at Nha Trang, in Vietnam, to find her family and, presumably, a happy reunion.

 

Unfortunately, her husband, the Chinese Prince, followed Lady Po Nagar to her homeland, intent on taking her back to China. It was more unfortunate for the Prince, as when Lady Po Nagar discovered him, she furiously turned her husband, and his entire fleet, into stone.