Killing a Buffalo for the Ancestors

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pp. 105-158 Text 2 : "Cosmogony"

pp. 108, 110 created by vuenz Buenz-guj (king Pan-gu / Ban2 gu3 – p. 141, n. 59) were :

p.

l.

created

108

64

soil

 

66

rock

110

70

the world

 

71

darkness

 

88

the sky

 

89

the earth

 

91-2

"suns but he created too many" :

these suns were not white.

 

93-4

"stars but he created too many" :

these stars "did not twinkle".

pp. 110, 112 created by Dien-vuenz Si (p. 142, n. 98 : Tian-huan S^i ‘Heavenly-Emperor Lord’) were :

p.

l.

created

110

103

clouds

111

108

"a path for the Northern Dipper"

 

109

"a place where the moon was to be"

p. 110, l. 100 "He created ... for ten thousand eight hundred years." (p. 142, n. 100 : as "corroborated by ... a Ming dynasty mytho-hisorical novel by Zhou You ..., the Kaipi yanyi ... [The Origins and Development of Heaven and Earth]")

p. 114 created by Deih-vuenz Si (p. 143, n. 141 : Di-huan S^i ‘Earthly-Emperor Lord’) were :

l.

created

147

"hill-slopes and ridges"

149

"limestone peaks"

153

rivers

155

the Sea

157

the 360 kinds of tree

159

the 360 kinds of "long-grass"

161

"the year and the month"

165

"the day and the hour"

p. 143, n. 159 /haz/ ‘long grasses’, including "thatch-grass, Imperata cylindrica ... commonly used for thatching"

p. 114, ll. 167-168 "At that time trees did not yet know how to talk,

The long-grasses did not yet know how to speak."

p. 143, n. 167-8 "a common theme in Tai origin myths, that in primordial time plants and animals could talk and could converse with human beings."

p. 116 "The Sky gods ... sent down", successively :

l.

#

sent

179

1st

chicken

180

2nd

hound

181

3rd

swine

182

4th

goat

183

5th

water-buffalo

184

6th

horse

185

7th

human

p. 116 appendages lacking from this primordial human

l.

"It had __"

188

neither head nor neck

191

neither jaw nor mouth

193

no penis

194

no thighs

p. 144, n. 188-90 "in a boumo text from Wangmo county in Guizhou, the Haansweangz Xocweangz (King Haan and King Xo), ... the ball of flesh to which the Immortal Maiden gives birth" (p. 14) :

(l. 92) "did not have a forehead on which to wear his kerchief,"

(l. 93) "did not have teeth with which to bite his meat,"

(l. 94) "did not have knees with which to embrace women."

p. 116 created by vuenz Fuz-yih (p. 145, n. 200 : [MS B] king Fu2 yi2 = sage-king Fu-xi) were :

l.

created

202

"arms and legs"

209

"names"

p. 118, ll. 218-219 "they sat in the middle of the road, ...

they slept in the middle of the path."

p. 118 inventions by vuenz Cauz Si (p. 145, n. 225 : king C^ao Lord) (p. 146, n. 225 : known as sage-king You-c^ao (literally meaning "have nest") S^i, "credited with the invention of houses" in Chinese mythology) :

l.

invention

229

houses

233-7

"There were kapok trees ...,

He pulled them over until they hooked onto each other.

He took the tops of trees ... together,

He then took cogongrass and put it above,

People went underneath and stayed there."

238

"the granary"

240

"husbands and wives, fathers and mothers"

p. 146, n. 233 may6 now1 ‘kapok tree / silk cotton tree’ (Bombax malabaricum = Glossapinus malabaricus = Salmalia malabaricus), "well-known for its large red flowers", and for its timber ("streaky – a bit of red and a bit of black") "used for making ... coffins". proto-Tai /nleuC2/.

p. 118, l. 246 the people "wore the leaves of trees to keep the wind at bay."

pp. 120, 122 inventions by vuenz Sui-cauz (p. 146, n. 251 : king Sui-c^ao = sage-king Sui-ren S^i "beacon-fire man", "credited with the invention of fire" in Chinese mythology) :

p.

l.

invention

120

252

He "came to create fire,

 

253

He brought stones {ore} and boiled {smelted} them to make iron."

 

267-8

He sowed the first rice.

 

272

He ploughed fields with a water-buffalo.

 

278-82

He planted seeds for the first : taro,

sweet-potato,

ragimillet,

peach,

orange.

122

294-303

At his behest, the people did the following with the first hemp-seeds : sowed them,

grew the hemp,

harvested it,

split it,

rolled it,

twisted the rolls into "ropes",

for warp

and for woof,

wove them into cloth, and

sewed the cloth into clothes.

p. 150, n. 300 The "rope" was a "hawser ... used to maintain tension on the warp" on a conz-rok (‘loom’).

pp. 124, 126, 128 (a more complete description of the events which had occurred earlier, in) the reign of Fuz-yih [already mentioned on pp. 116-8]

p.

l.

event

124

333

He created 12 moons.

 

334

He created 12 suns.

 

349

He "created a flood that reached to the sky."

 

353-4

"The only ones left alive ...,

The two of them, brother and sister, played man and wife."

126

361

"Younger Sister restlessly pulled at her flesh".

 

367-8

Their offspring "was a child that was like a mill-stone.

The took him and left him in a shed".

 

389

But after the two parents performed a ritual,

"The child now had a head and a neck".

128

394-6

This "turned into hundreds of thousands of people.

... they were called by their family-names,

... they were called by their Surnames."

p. 151, n. 333-4 "Here ... are twelve suns instead of ten, there are twelve moons as well as twelve suns, and the suns are associated not with the reign of Yao, but the reign of Fuyi (Fu Xi). Fuyi, moreover, is not the one who solves the problem, but the one who creates it."

p. 152, n. 361 The ‘wife’ (in the couple who survived the deluge) is named by characters read in, Bou-yei texts of the ritual master at Li-bo, as /Xiz-Maiz/ (C^e11 Mai31) ‘Pearl-Plum’.

p. 153, n. 361 However, in "the version of the flood myth current in Wuxuan ... county in east-central Guangxi", the same woman’s "name ... is given as ... zhi1 mei4, lit. ‘sesame sister’ or ‘fungus sister’ ... . A phonetically similar name ... is also found in Bouyei accounts of the flood myth in southwestern Guizhou, where it has been transcribed ... as ... xi4 mei4 ...

‘slender sister’ ".

p. 154, n. 361 "a folk healing method, using the fingers ... to pull up ... the skin in that area".

p. 154, n. 368 /honh-doiq/ "shed in which the mortar is housed" : doiq ‘stone mortar’ "is used with a tilt-hammer which is operated by foot".

p. 130 reign of vuenz Saenz-noenz (p. 155, n. 425 : S^en-non "Divine Agriculturalist")

l.

event

432-5

"The Metal Star Taibo came down to say :

"Heaven has sent down five kinds of Salary ...,

And has bestowed six kinds of longevity ... .

They came and are located on the other side of the Sea ... . ..."."

444-5

"The Gold Star Ziwei ... said just one thing :

"The sparrow is able to cross the Sea ... .""

447

Saenz-noenz "called over the sparrow and asked it."

452-3

{At the sparrow’s behest,}

"The buffalo went across the Sea to fetch the Salary ...,

The horse went to Foreign Lands to bring the longevity".

{‘rice’ could hardly be involved here, inasmuch as it had already been bestowed by Sui-cauz (ll. 267-8); instead ‘Salary’ may = coins; ‘longevity’ may = elixir.}

p. 155, n. 431 Zi-wei Jin-xin = ‘Purple-Tenuity Gold-Star’, "revered by Taoists as" Zhon-tian Bei-ji Da-di ‘Central-Heaven North-Pole Great-Emperor’

p. 155, n. 432 "The Metal Star Taibo is the planet Venus".

p. 156, n. 433-4 ‘longevity’ "sustains the life-force of the elderly."

pp. 156-7, n. 433-4 The word ‘Salary’ "is written with the spirit radical ... : ... the spirit-world counterpart of an official salary, the kind of blessing that enables ... an emolument."

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pp. 176-177 rites in (what is now) Guan-xi, according Z^ou Qu-fei’s Lin-wai Dai-da 10:24a-25a "Jia-gui" section (written in the 12th century Chr.E.)

p. 176

"At the time of the [New] Year they make offerings to the ancestors. That is, they lay out offerings of wine and meat below the ghost-way, command a sorcerer to deliver the sacrifice, and the sons and grandsons make merry together".

p. 177

"The "family ghosts" (jiagui ... ) refers to the ancestors. ... To the right of the gate through which family members ... go in and out they have to make a small laneway, an hole two or three inches square in the right-hand wall where the laneway leads up to the main hall. This is called the "ghost-way," and they say it is the way by which the ancestors come in and out. When people come in the gate they must observe the prohibition against standing by the side [of the gate, in front] of the ghost-way, lest they hinder the progress of family ghosts."

pp. 184-185 Emperors of Heaven, of Earth, and of Humankind; and Nest-Builder Emperors, in Chinese mythology

p.

emperors

184

Tian-huan S^i (Emperors of Heaven) : "According to one early account [Han Tan Di-li S^u-c^ao "Digest of geographical writings from the Han and Tang"] the Tianhuang-shi were twelve brothers sent down by the Five

185

Dragons of the five directions; they came from Wuwai ("no beyond") Mountain, and became the deities of the twelve divisions of the day."

 

Di-huan S^i : "the Dihuang-shi ... (Emperors of Earth) ... are described as nine brothers, with faces like women, bodies like serpents, and feet like wild beasts."

 

Ren-huan S^i (Emperors of Humankind) [-- not in the Don-lan cosmogony].

 

Nest-builders :

 

(according to Z^uan-zi 29 = Dao Z^i ‘Z^i the robber’ chapter,)

(According to the Han-fei-zi, Wu-du section,)

 

"In ancient times wild beasts were more numerous than people,

"In the generations of highest antiquity, the people were few and wild beasts many. ...

 

so the people all lived in nests in order to avoid them.

There was a sage who came and ... fitted timbers together to make nests in order to avoid all these harmful creatures.

 

In the day they collected acorns,

 
 

... they were called the people of Youchao-shi."

The people ... made him king of all under heaven, and called him by the title Youchao-shi."

p. 186 Sui-ren S^i

invention

source

"Suiren-shi observed a bird like an owl pecking at a fire-bearing tree, and invented the technique of fire-drilling".

S^i Yi Ji (‘Record of Lost Gleanings’, or, ‘Researches into Lost Records’) 869.2a

"In the generations of highest antiquity ... the people ate ... clams and frogs. ... There was a sage who ... drilled for fire ... . The people ... made him king of all under heaven, and called him by the title Suiren-shi."

Han-fei-zi, Wu-du section

pp. 188-189 the chapters of Kai-pi Yan-yi Ton-su Z^i-z^uan ("A Popular Account of the Opening up of Heaven and Earth")

p.

account

cap.

188

Pan-gu S^i Divideth Heaven & Earth

1.

 

The Tian-huan Establish the Heavenly Stems & the Earthly Branches

2.

 

The Di-huan Divide the Sun, Moon, and Stars

3.

 

The Ren-huan Divide the Mountains, Streams, & 9 Regions

4.

 

You-c^ao S^i Teacheth the People to Build Houses

7.

 

Sui-ren S^i useth Knotted Ropes to Govern

8.

 

Fu Xi Draweth Trigrams and Establisheth the World

9.

189, n. 96

"Nu: Gua, ... the younger sister of Fu Xi by the same mother, ... succeeds Fu Xi after his long reign of 1,115 years, and after putting down the rebellion of Gong Gong {cf. defeat by goddess Durga of male gods} which caused the sky to fall in, proceeds to repair the sky by smelting a magic stone of five colours."

11-13.

188

S^en-non Teacheth the People the Art of the 5 Grains

15.

p. 190 terminology

mbwn {cf. Persian /bun/ ‘religion’} ‘sky’

sien ‘gods’

manz ‘spirits’

inq "seal of office"

pp. 193-194 variant of the deluge-myth current in the Hon-s^ui River area

p.

myth

193

counterpart

meaning

 

Daek-doux

/daek/ ‘male’ + /doux/ ‘head of a pimple’ {males’ facial pimples are often squeezed by females}

 

Dah-daeuh

/dah/ ‘female’ + /daeuh/ ‘ashes’ {cf. the ashes wherewith (in South American Indian, and in Assamese, myths) the sun-goddess dimmeth the face of her brother the moon-god}

 

"Daekdou and Dadaeu were both children of Bobwk, who had

194

imprisoned the thunder god Dubya (Duzbyaj) in a granary for causing too many floods. When Bobwk was out at the market one day, Dubya persuaded the children to give him a drink of water. He strength returned, Dubya broke free, and as he left he pulled out a tooth and gave it to the children, telling them to plant it immediately ... . The tooth, when planted, grew into an enormous gourd, in which Daekdou and Dadaeu took refuge during the flood. When the waters finally receded, ... the Morning Star ... told them that they were the only survivors left on earth, and that they should become man and wife and repopulate the world. ... the smoke from the two bonfires intertwined, ... it was a sign that they could become man and wife. ... They had sexual intercourse, and no long afterwards Dadaeu gave birth to a ball of flesh, which had no eyes, no mouth, no nose, and no limbs. ... it turned into the peoples of the world". {This "ball of flesh" = Chinese god Hun-dun.}

p. 198 Vietnamese legend of brother-sister incest, with its corresponding festival

"O^ng Du`ng and Ba` Da`, a full brother and sister, became a man and wife after the usual trials, such as running around a mountain in opposite directions." {cf. [S^into] Izana-gi and Izana-mi, full brother and sister, who became man and wife after walking around a pillar in opposite directions.}

rite performed during 3rd month according to the old kalendar, at Do^n Ye^n parish in Hu’n Ye^n province of Viet-nam : In order to commemorate this legend, "the locals cut off the head of the bamboo doll representing the youner brother and jam it into the genitals of the doll representing the older sister".

pp. 198-199 "ritual play called "Breaking Open a Pumpkin to Obtain a Child" (Po gua qiu zi ...) performed by the Bouyei Ritual Masters as part of the ... Tiao ... ritual conducted for couples who seek to conceive children" in Li-bo county southern Gui-z^ou

p. 198

"Leniang appears in late pregnancy, holding a pumpkin to her bosom. The immortal officer Hualin (Hualin xianguan ...) ... delivers her of the pumpkin ... . The deity Fan Xu ... then ... chops up the pumpkin,

p. 199

takes out the seeds, and strews them in all directions."

 

seeds strewn to the __

become __ people

 

North

Mak [Ka-dai in Li-bo (fn. 130)]

 

East

Sui

 

South

Z^uan

 

West

Kam

 

Middle

Bou-yei

pp. 206-209 buffalo-meat eaten at funeral as substitute for eating the corpse of the dead by mourners

p. 206 cited from "ASD"

p. 209 cited from "GK"

legend of origin of funeral practices among the Z^uan : "in primordial times people used to eat the bodies of the dead." But because Doen-vin witnessed "a buffalo cow giving birth ... to a calf", he "eventually persuaded his fellow villagers and kinsfolk to accept the substitution of buffalo for human flesh."

funeral among the La-c^i (a Ka-dai people) of northern Viet-nam : "The eldest son or son-in-law is ... to tie the animal to a bamboo ... and kill it. The killed animal is then covered with straw. The eldest daughter or daughter-in-law then goes around it three times poking a stick as if looking for something and suddenly cries out "I have found Mother or Father." After that, the daughter cuts off an ear or a piece of meat from the neck of the buffalo and it is grilled and offered as food to the shaman."

"ASD" = David Holm : "The Ancient Song of Doengving". MONUMENTA SERICA 49 (2001).

"GK" = Hoa`ng Lu’o’ng : "A glimpse at the Kadai ethnic communities of Vietnam". KADAI 4 (1994):41-57.

NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY MONOGRAPH SERIES ON SOUTHEAST ASIA, No. 5 = David Holm : Killing a Buffalo for the Ancestors : a Zhuang Cosmological Text. DeKalb, 2003.