NO. I 



CHUAN MIAO SONGS AND STORIES — GRAHAM 



13 



Binding Together the Sky and the Earth 

 (438) 



When I roam all over the world, it moves 

 my heart. I go to Glang Ma's road. Speaking 

 of the earth, I have traveled all over the sky. 

 I have traveled to Glang Gi's dwelling. 



Glang Ma slept until midnight. Then she 

 thought of coming and tying (binding) the 

 level land (flat) together. Glang Gi at first 

 came and slept until midnight. He awoke 

 and he remembered that he ought to bind the 

 sky together. They bound the sky and came 

 to Ntzi's level land on the sky. They bound 

 the earth and came to beneath the yellow sky 

 and the white sun. To bind the sky, they 

 must go up the sky ladder. To bind the 

 earth they must go to its foundation and 

 begin there.*^ 



Glang Na (or Ma) slept until midnight 

 and certainly bound up the earth. Glang Ji 

 slept until midnight and certainly bound up 

 the sky. When the sky and the earth were 

 all bound up, they arranged in order the stars 

 in the sky so that they could shine on the 

 people of this world. Then when people see 

 the sky above, there is a sky river (the milky 

 way). During the second and third lunar 

 months the sky river comes out and watches 

 us farm. During the fifth and sixth lunar 

 month, it will also go to Yang Cheo (a place 

 where dead souls go to market) and watch 

 the water. In the seventh moon it again 

 returns and makes a path in the sky, ar- 

 ranged orderly like a big road. Glang Na and 

 Glang Ji (or Jii) were exceedingly glad and 

 lived peacefully. 



Beating a Great Mountain until It Was Firm 

 (469) 



Tao Zruen Glang Ts'ai slept until midnight 

 and got up and pursued the great mountain. 

 Te L'an Glang Tsai slept until midnight and 

 arose and pursued the great mountain peak. 



Tao Zruen Glang Tsai took a brass club 

 and an iron club in his hand. Then he went 

 and pursued the great mountain and drove it 

 back. Te L'an Glang Tsai carried a brass club 

 and an iron club in his hand. He also pur- 

 sued the great mountain until it became a 

 regular ridge. Then he immediately beat that 

 mountain three dmes. He beat the mountain 

 into a level flat. 



Tao Zruen Glang Tsai again went and took 

 the club in his hands and beat the mountain 



^ The conception is that the earth and the sky 

 might break to pieces if not bound together by 

 ropes or vines. 



three times, and the mountain became firm 

 and iminovable. Te L'an Glang Tsai (or 

 Ts'ai) again went and pursued a small hill. 

 While he was pursuing it he beat it three 

 times, and the small hill became a level flat. 



After this time these two beat the moun- 

 tains until they became good land. Then 

 there were both mountains and good land. 

 Then they gathered up their brass clubs and 

 iron clubs and put them down (away). If 

 the earth moves again (in an earthquake) the 

 two will certainly come again and beat it. 

 Now the mountains are unable to move, and 

 the earth is also firm, and people are born 

 and grow up. When they grow up, things 

 are stable and they do not move about. 



One day Ntzi came out of the door of 

 heaven and said, "The people I have created, 

 when they are born, can use the soil and 

 produce (create) things to eat. When they 

 die they must also be peacefully buried in 

 the ground before it agrees with my com- 

 mand. If not, I will take back the land so 

 that people cannot again live there." "^ 



Winding Up the S\y and the Earth (471) 



Bang Ngeo Jah went to wind the plain up 

 smaller. Ngeo Ya Ngeo Tso slept and got 

 up to wind the sky up smaller. Bang Ngeo 

 Ja wound up the earth on a mountain pass. 

 Ngeo Ja Ngeo Tso wound up the earth like 

 a road. Bang Ngeo Ja wound up the sky 

 until it was like a gown. Ngeo Ja Ngeo Tso 

 wound up the earth, and then there were 

 level plains. Bang Ngeo Ja wound up the 

 earth until there were flats. Ngeo Ja Ngeo 

 Tso wound up the sky until it was like a 

 ricefield. Bang Ngeo Ja (or Ya) wound up the 

 earth until it was like a horizontal mountain. 



They finished winding up the sky and the 

 earth and then took some of the remnants 

 and wound them up into 99 cliffs. The rest 

 they wound into 88 stone veins inside the 

 mountain. 



Weaving the Sky and the Earth (480) 



When the sky was opened and the earth 

 was dug up, there was a man whose name 

 was Ntz'i Tao Ntso Ntzi (God mountain 

 fragment). There was a woman named Ntzi' 

 Tao Ntso Bo (weave fragment woman). 

 They decided to weave the world. 



"^ In West China it is considered a prime neces- 

 sity to bury people peacefully, that is, in a good 

 spot and in a good coffin and with appropriate 

 ceremonies. Then the person buried can rest in 

 peace. 



