0. I CH'uAN MIAO songs and stories — GRAHAM 5 



igagement is made. There is generally no love between the bride and the 

 room unless it is after marriage. Love affairs, which are many, are often between 

 man and another man's wife or between a woman and another woman's hus- 

 and. Sometimes lovers run away together, after which go-betweens endeavor to 

 btain the consent of the bride's parents, and the gift to her parents must be made 

 s usual. Marriage by capture is not unknown. Strange to say, women rather 

 ke this method, for it shows that the man loves or esteems the woman, and it 

 ften results in a happy marriage. 



' There are no physicians, although some persons are reputed to know more about 

 iedicines and healing than others, and the efficacy of the medicines has not yet 

 een scientifically investigated. The common belief is that all diseases and other 

 alamities are caused by demons, which must be exorcised by the do nun or tuan 

 •ung, who is a magician or shaman. He has a formula for every disease, and 

 »esides using ceremonies and incantations to exorcise the demons that cause dis- 

 ases or other calamities, he performs many real wonders, among which are 

 reading with bare feet on a red-hot plowshare and touching his tongue to the 

 iame, spitting or spurting hot oil out of his mouth onto a fire to cause a larger 

 )laze, and with bare feet walking over a ladder of sharp swords. It is not strange 

 Jiat the death rate among the Ch'uan Miao is very high. 



i The Ch'uan Miao theory of filial piety and of the relation of mutual helpfulness 

 between the deceased ancestors and their descendants corresponds fairly closely 

 p that of the Chinese. The deceased ancestors are believed to be in need of the 

 lame things that they need on this earth before death, such as food, clothing, 

 louses, and money, and these are provided by the loyal descendants through the 

 leremonial offerings. In return the ancestors help and protect their descendants 

 >o that they may prosper. 



f Soon after death the mo or priest three times calls on the soul of the dead to 

 'return or arise, and when it does not do so he performs a ceremony to open 

 the way of the soul of the deceased to Hades, or to paradise, which is called the 

 ancient level land of Ntzi, the supreme but not the only god. The priest kills 

 a rooster, and the soul of the rooster leads the soul of the dead person to paradise. 

 ; Some time after the mo has opened the way for the soul of the deceased to go 

 to paradise, there is a procession. In front is a man whirling a stick. He is followed 

 by two men playing the liu sheng and dancing, then two blowing water-buffalo 

 horns, two carrying green bamboo twigs, and finally two men with guns. Inside 

 the house a ceremonial drum is beaten. This ceremony is symbolic of the fact that 

 in ancient times their ancestors lived in the forest where there were dangerous 

 wild animals. 



During the funeral ceremonies a bull or a male water buffalo is killed and partly 

 cooked, and some or all of it is offered to the ancestors. Then the meat is thoroughly 

 cooked and there is a feast. Friends and relatives enjoy the feast, but the descendants 

 of the deceased do not then eat any of the meat. 



Generally on the next night after the bull is killed a dance is performed by 

 the strongest young men inside the house. It takes place in front of the ceremonial 



