12 



SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 



VOL. 



123 



they had leveled the earth, they also intended 

 to come and level the fields. They leveled a 

 big ricefield, so that it shone brightly. They 

 leveled also a small field so that it was like 

 quartz crystal. The rice paddies were all 

 leveled off, and all the land was also leveled. 

 There was only a black rock at Hai Lo Ba 

 (pa), and also a big ice rock at Hai Lo Ba, 

 that had not been leveled off. 



Ntzi' Je Ldo Hai said, "I have leveled off 

 all the lands. The watered rice paddies I 

 have also leveled off. There is only that 

 black rock which I will not level off, and also 

 the ice rock which I will not level off. I will 

 leave them as large memorials." ^ 



The song is ended. 



Plowing the Sl^y and the Earth to Ma\e Them 

 Level and Firm (345) 



Ntzi Je Ldo Lai awoke. He arose and went 

 to plow the sky. Niong Tse Je Lai awoke 

 and went to plow the field. After plowing all 

 the sky, he swept the stars for a day. When 

 he had finished plowing the ground, he sowed 

 all the stone bones in the world. When the 

 stone bones had grown out of the ground, 

 they became great cliffs. There was also that 

 soil like a big stone-path road. He plowed 

 going and coming until the place was all 

 plowed. 



One day he plowed to a stone bone (bone 

 stone). He left the stone bone to be a memo- 

 rial. He gave it the name of stone bamboo. 

 The people of the earth asked him, "Why do 

 you not take that stone and erect it slop- 

 ingly?" Ntzi Je Ldo Lai aaid, "If you plow 

 it up, on earth it will not be firm." He left 

 that stone pillar to prop up the earth. 



Digging the 5^y and the Earth (346) 



Ntzi Je Ndo K'e at first arose to open the 

 sky. He opened and dug up all the sky. 

 They opened and dug up the sky and the 

 earth so that in the middle there was no 

 boundary. In the center of the sky and the 

 earth there was no terrace. They opened the 

 sky and the world, and leveled them and 

 made them firm. They dug up the sky until 

 it was like a board on the ceiling. They also 

 hoed the earth until it was like a piece of 

 large cloth. We do not remember when they 

 came and opened up these places. We do not 

 know at all when they came and opened up 

 the sky. 



5 This song refers to two large rocks 10 li from 

 Lo Piao. They are fengshtii stones. 



Harrowing Level the S\y and the Earth (347) 



Na Bo Do awoke and arose to harrow the 

 flat. Do Seo Je Leo awoke and arose to har- 

 row the sky. When they finished harrowing | 

 the sky, they came to harrow the earth. They 

 harrowed the earth flat and firm. They har- 

 rowed the sky and hung it up like a large 

 loft. Then they again went and slept. 



They slept and again awoke and came and 

 looked. They saw that there were 99 layers 

 of cliff rocks. They also saw that there were 

 88 layers of stone mountains. They again 

 looked and saw that on the edge of the sky 

 there was limitless big ocean. They again 

 looked and saw there were 108 big level 

 bright flats. They again looked and saw the 

 water on the high mountains flowing into 

 the great ocean. They could hardly see and 

 looked with their two eyes successively (from m 

 one side to the other). On the left they saw 

 only night. On the right they saw only clear 

 day. We then said that the sky had eyes 

 and looks with this eye and with that eye. 

 It cannot cease for awhile. If it ceased for a 

 quarter of an hour, there would be neither 

 sky above nor earth below. 



Weaving the S\y (349) 



Na Bo Ha slept until midnight, and then 

 arose and wove the flat (ground). Tsa Je 

 Ha Ji slept until midnight and arose and 

 wove a place. When they had woven the 

 place, they returned. The places they wove 

 very beautifully. They turned around like 

 the water in the great sea. The places were 

 circular. When they had finished weaving, 

 they looked and they spoke saying, "We 

 have woven the heaven and the earth, and 

 they turn about like the water of the sea." 



They again looked and saw an animal com- 

 ing like a rat. They also saw another like a j 

 weasel. Then they two went to a grassy hill. 

 There they saw some animal as big as an 

 elephant. They also saw one as large as a 

 kirin. Then they were somewhat afraid. 

 They came home and made ropes of hemp. 

 They used bamboo and made a snare. They 

 dug up the earth and made a great pit. 

 Then they went and chased those two big ; 

 creatures. The two big creatures quickly ran 

 and were caught by the snares. Then the 

 two people took in their hands stone knives, 

 and with the stone knives skinned the two ] 

 big creatures. Everybody ate a meal, and they 

 could not eat the meat all up. They said, !, 

 "Some other day we will again go and cap- 

 ture (wild animals)." 



