14 



SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 



VOL. 123 



They both had already become old. They 

 had (fed or were raising) a daughter named 

 Tsu Ma Ngeo Dong. There was another 

 named Ch'in Ntzi Dong Bu (control God 

 brass old woman). When these two had 

 grown up they went to weave the sky and 

 the earth. They wove the sky and the earth 

 until they arrived at the level sea below. They 

 accidentally saw the people below who were 

 lying all over the land like rice husks. The 

 people of the sky covered the sky, when they 

 were lying down, like tree leaves. Not a 

 single one went partners with them in pre- 

 paring the thread. The second time these two 

 came to weave the sky and earth and placed 

 the sky and the earth on the stand. When 

 the weaving was finished they still saw the 

 people below lying down as numerous as the 



rice husks. They saw the people in the sky 

 lying down like tree leaves. They could not 

 find a single person to be partners with them. 



The third time they again went to weave 

 the sky and the earth and then picked up a 

 person named Ngeo Ge Ngeo Ntseo (willing 

 young woman beautiful as a flower). They 

 picked her up and nourished her. 



The two of them slept until midnight, then 

 finished weaving the sky and the earth. When 

 it was finished they measured the sky and the 

 earth. When they had finished measuring 

 they said, "The sky is certainly large and 

 broad. The earth is broad, but not very 

 broad." Ngeo Ge Ngeo Ntseo said, "The sky 

 is broad like a bamboo hat. The earth is 

 broad like a winnowing basket." 



GODS BATTLE FOR THE WORLD 



A Song of Battle (335) 



Roaming all over the world, I arrive at 

 the road of Le Ntzi. Speaking of the earth, 

 I have traveled all over it. I also roamed to 

 Nts'eo Tse's residence. The body of Nts'eo 

 Tse is spotted. Le Ntzi" slept until midnight 

 and then arose and struggled for the world 

 with Nts'eo Tse. Nts'eo Tse slept until mid- 

 night, and then he also arose and struggled 

 with Le Ntzi for boundaries. The body of 

 Le Ntzi' was also spotted. Nts'eo Tse's body 

 was also the color of black smoke. Le Ntzi' 

 was about to struggle with him for the border 

 boundaries. Nts'eo Tse was also about to 

 struggle with him for a terrace. Le Ntzi 

 intended to struggle until he reached King 

 Lo's great capital.^ Nts'eo Tse intended to 

 dispute for the heavenly king's great fortified 

 tower. 



When they were fightng the noise was like 

 the roaring of thunder, or like the falling of 

 a mountain cliff. They fought for a time, 

 and Nts'eo Tse could not conquer. Then 

 Le Ntzi chased him and followed him to a 

 big fiat below. They met an old man who was 

 only as high as their knees. 



The old man was very powerful. His tusks 

 had grown out as far as his nose. His front 



teeth protruded to the outside of his lips. 

 His whiskers reached the top of his feet. 

 With his hands he took his whiskers and tied 

 them behind his back. Nts'eo Tse asked him, 

 "Do you know whether Le Ntzi passed this 

 way? Did you see him? Do you truly know 

 where he went from here.?" That old man 

 said, "I did not see where he went. I do not 

 know. I saw only some old man whose 

 hands were like the paws of a bear. His 

 feet were like those of a demon. His head 

 was pointed like the blade of a plow, and 

 also he was a black person. His head reached 

 into the sky, and his feet, when he stepped, 

 entered the ground. Yesterday he went past 

 here. You yourself pursue after him more 

 quickly. You go and catch him, and you 

 yourself fight him. I will not control you." 



Then Nts'eo Tse again arose and went in 

 pursuit. He pursued him to the edge of the 

 sky (horizon) and then caught Le Ntzi. 

 Then he took hold of Le Ntzi and shook him 

 and beat him. After he had beaten him, he 

 stabbed him. After he had stabbed him, he 

 again shook him. He shook him until his 

 flesh was like dirt. His blood flowed out and 

 flooded the earth like red clay. 



The song is ended. 



THE LADDER BETWEEN THE SKY AND THE EARTH WAS BROKEN 



The Origin of the Miao Tuan Kungs {Magi- 

 cians), or The Ladder from Earth to 

 Heaven Was Broken (208) 



In most ancient times in heaven there was 



8 The term is lo fa Tat, or King of the Sky, a 

 god. This is another name for Ntzi, the supreme 

 god of the Ch'uan Miao. 



one demon named Go Nao Nun.^ Below 

 there was only one man who could control 

 demons. His name was Je Du.^" This tuan 

 J{ung was sent down by Ntzi especially to 

 help people to live. The demon was ap- 



^ Round thing able to eat people. 

 10 An old man efficient in cutting off slices of 

 things. 



