72 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 123

you were born) your mother picked you up and wrapped you in her skirt.

You caused pain to your mother's heart.

Your father picked you up and wrapped you in the skirt of his gown.

You pained your father's heart until it was swollen. You are truly dead.

Thank your mother and your father before you go. When you were first born you were on a high mountain.

You have eaten much corn meal.

You have drunk much water.

You have burnt up as fire wood many mountain peaks and old forests.

You have ruined by digging numerous peaks of ground.

You are truly dead.

(For the ground you worked) you should express thanks to the earth below before you go. You arise on your bed.

Then the pair of bed demons, husband and wife, beat and push you to hinder, and will not allow you to go.

You say, "You pair of bed demons,

When the demon comes up behind you do not help beat him.

Although I am not dead, you do not help in front by pulling.

Nine kinds of medicine did not heal me.

Eight magicians could not heal me."

Your breath has ceased. Your mouth is closed. The life in your breast has fallen.

You speak this way to the mother and father bed demons and they will release you, then you go.

You arise and arrive at the parlor.

The pair of parent parlor demons,

One flail for one person, two flails for two per- sons, strike you and lift up and strike again, and will not permit you to go.

You say, "You pair of parlor demons, when de-

mons come behind you do not help beat them. When I am dead, you will not help by pulling

in front.

Nine kinds of medicine could not cure me. Eight magicians could not heal me.

My breath has ceased, in my mouth the air has stopped.

In my breast my life has fallen."

Then the pair of male and female parlor demons permit you to go, and you go.

You arise and proceed to the big door below. The pair of parent door demons, each with a vine

whip, beat you, and lift up again and strike

you, and will not allow you to go.

You say, "Pair of parlor demons, it is not true

that I will sacrifice to you one pig each year. How will it do to sacrifice to you one pig in two

years?

When the demon comes up behind, you do not beat it.

Although I am dead, you do not help by pulling me in front.

Medicine could not heal me, and breath has ceased.

The fine air has ceased in my mouth.

Life has fallen in my throat." The pair of demons release you, and you go quickly.

You arise and proceed to the grove below.

The pair of chaff demons, with one winnowing basket each,

Shaking the baskets in circles up and down and sidewise, are unwilling for you to go.

You say, "You pair of chaff demons;

Formerly people and demons mingled together. The flesh of people was like yellow beeswax. The bones of people were like iron bones. The flesh of demons was like yellow dirt.

The bones of demons were like the skin of the wild hairy plum."

When people met demons, in case they threw -! ashes, if it struck a young dog the dog howled and ran back home.

If one handful was thrown on people, people. could see demons, and demons could people.

If two or three handfuls were thrown,

People could not see the demons.

Now the flesh of people is like yellow dirt.

The bones of people are like the skin of the wild hairy plum.

Now this person (mankind?) can live but not die, can die, but cannot come back again.

The small dog bites (barks) bow wow (the Ch'uan Miao words are blo blo).

This person does not understand.

I do not know what the dog is biting.

The dog comes down to bite a demon.

You talk continually and the pair of chaff de­mons permit you to go, and then you go. You, Aged Rock, open your ears now and hear well the words which I, the priest, sing to you, then go.

Formerly Na Ngeo A (mother girl bitter) dwelt in the sky and developed a bad intention.

Ndeo A Ong (male bitter Ong) came and developed a bad heart.

Na Ngeo A arose and broke the clear water of Ndjü Nyong Leo.

Ndeo A Ong arose and broke the muddy sky! I water of Ndjü Nyong Leo.

Formerly the yellow water came down until it mounted to the sky.

It covered the fields of the earth and filled the sky until it was dark.

All over the world it filled up until it struck (touched) the sky.

Two people, sister and brother, entered the de­mon drum, floating back and forth up to they land of Ndjü Nyong Leo's sky. I

Ndjü Nyong Leo opened the door of the sky and looked.
Ndjü Nyong Leo struck with the bright brass I rod and pushed downward.

He punched open the yellow flood-water until it ran down through the dragon cave.

The earth was clear and the sky clear, and there was no human seed.

Who came down formerly to find human seed? Tsho Ndang Shei Bdong came down to find human seed.

The sister and the brother lived on the sky and were not willing to come down to the world.

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NO. I.

CH'UAN MIAO SONGS AND STORIES—GRAHAM

73

Ndjü Nyong Leo said, "Wait till I write your names on paper,

And bring your wooden drum and hang it up, until on a later day

will erase your names, when you will come and look to see if your wooden drum is well not."

The two, sister and brother, came down to earth. They begat many earthly people in the world so they filled the entire sky.

Now the people of the world are unwilling to die (be absent).

Now Ndjü Nyong Leo brings scales and weighs the earthly people below who are unwilling

to die.

Nien Wang brings his pen and approaches (your name) and weighs you, then you are gone; arrives at your name, then you die.

Gone, dead, thinking of your nine generations of ancestors assembled at the Hua T'an (flowery altar) ceremony and the altar of the ceremonial drum, and returning to the' level land of Ntzï Nyong Leo in the sky.

Who formerly came down to find the seed of bam­boo and trees?

The immortal Sei Mblong came down to find the "bamboo seed and the seed of trees.

He scattered it on the earth below.

The bamboos grew toward the valleys (gulches). The tree seeds grew toward the edges of the mountains.

The new warm spring comes forth with warm and hot weather.

The bamboo grows four or five sprouts (on each tree).

The wind comes and fans things. It recedes and scatters the dew.

(The bamboo) grows large and luxuriantly, and the insects bite one off. The insects cut another off.

There are left only two, of which one goes in a marriage ceremony. There is left one, which is cut down and brought to you to be used as divining sticks.

The divining sticks express your words, then you go to meet your ancestors.

Who formerly came down to find the seed of chickens?

Tso Ndang Sei Mblong came down to find chickens.

He found chickens and returned home.

One day she lays one, in two days she lays two eggs.

She laid twelve eggs and brought them together to sit on.

She sat on them twenty days.

One egg spoiled because sterile, and another died in the shell.

She hatched out seven or eight.

The sparrow hawk got one, a hawk got another, and a wildcat caught another.

Three or four were left.

One went as a gift to settle a quarrel.

One went as a wedding gift.

One is left, which I bring to you to show you the road (to paradise).

Hold the cock's tail (or wings).

The cock will go before you and crow.

In the rear behind you the bamboo divining sticks will toll, to converse with you as you go up quickly.

You go where there are three water clouds and a stone water cave.

You arrive where there is water on the halfway road, and where water flows from a tree (a wooden cave).

You are thirsty, and drink three handfuls of water.

You go forward where you drink all pains and groans.

If you are not thirsty, you dip up three handfuls of water and sprinkle them behind.

You arrive at the mountain with fir forests and woods of suffering hearts.

You arrive at the mountain with forests of trees, and forests of bitter livers (sorrows).

The big peacock eats people and breaks trees with a noise, and you arrive at the burnt mountain. The priest carries a sword under his arm at his side, and on his back he carries a crossbow,

and is a companion to you. Go quickly (be 

cause of demons).

You climb higher and higher up the mountain. The mountaintop is very cold.

The stone dragon opens his mouth wide.

The stone tiger opens his mouth opposite.

You must not fear. The priest carries his sword under his arm and is your companion.

Take a handful of hemp and push it into the stone dragon's mouth.

Push a handful of hemp and fire hemp between the tiger's lips.

You go quickly and climb to the highest point of the mountain.

The mountain is very high.

There are three roads there in the midst.

Grass is growing in the road of your mother and father.

Go quickly and fast, and arrive at the place of the big billowy, bitter, muddy water.

The boat above is that of your relatives.

There is a boat below which is the boat of the Lobos and of the Chinese.

The boat of your mother and your father is in the middle.

You leap inside and row along the edge of the stream, and cross to that side.

You should go up to Ntzï's insect mountain. Arise and go up Ntzï's insect mountain.

The sky is clear and very warm.

The clear sky is very hot.

Open the silk umbrella and bring it to protect from the sunlight.

Bring the silk and satin umbrella to help pro­tect from the sun.

You must go and climb Ndjü's sky ladder, And climb to Ndjü's sky door.

When your cock crows, the sky door will be closed (by the doorkeeper).

You say, "You pair of sky-door demons, it is not true that every year a sow will be offered to you.

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SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 123

Once a year I will offer you a sow.18

How is it that when the demons come behind you will not fight them,

And after I am dead you do not help pull me away?

All the world I have passed over, and I have come all over the earth."

You say, "You parent demons of the gate of the sky, how about it?"

They will let you go, and you go quickly.

You climb up to Ndjü Nyong Leo's old level land in the sky.

Ndjü Nyong Leo will ask you, "Who led you here?"

You say, "When I came the priest led me here." "How did you come? The priest is not seen coming?"

You say, "I wore big (cloth) shoes.

When I traveled in the sky I wore hemp shoes. When I traveled on the death road the priest wore vine sandals and the priest went back." You leap to the flowery altar and the drum altar. You go back and forth three times to the right and three times to the left.

You proceed very quickly.

You arrive at the cliff outside that town.

When the long-haired dog comes on that side to bite you, you run around on this side.

You go around to the left and come to the cliff outside the town.

You must come down on the sky ladder and come out on this world.

The priest leads you to the burial ground and to the grave pit.

You go to the high mountain peak where there are many living people.17

The Chinese obtained in low places. The Chinese got many trees and pine trees.18

The Miao got high mountains with fir and chest­nut trees 19

You go and make your thatched and shingle. roofed houses.

Put your chicken down below in the fortified place.

If their cock crows, your cock must not crow. You go among the numerous living people. Your flesh is rotten fragments, and goes down and is mixed with blood.

Your blood and the rotten fragments go down and are mixed with dirt.

What comes down and eats your flesh?

The ants come down and eat your flesh.

What comes down and sucks up your blood? The ants come down and suck up your blood. What is intimate with your people?

The ants are intimate with your people, and love intimately.

It is finished. All is entirely finished.

16 It must be a sow that has given birth to pigs.

17 Probably refers to the spirit land.

18 In west China pine trees grow in lower altitudes.

19 In west China fir and chestnut trees gen­erally grow in the higher altitudes.