NO. I 



CHUAN MIAO SONGS AND STORIES — GRAHAM 



23 



brides were invited to eat. After they had 

 eaten food, those who escorted the brides 

 were about to return. When they had again 

 eaten food, those who escorted the brides 

 were going to depart. 



The older girl was now in the room weep- 

 ing. The younger girl was in the house weep- 

 ing even more. One daughter-in-law was near 

 the door of the kitchen. The other women 

 were talking near the stove. They all urged 

 the brides saying, "A Lolo woman is efficient 

 in being a servant. A Chinese woman is 

 efficient in being a person's wife. You two 

 are not the only people who are efficient in 

 being daughters-in-law." ^° 



The Beginning of the Hoe, the Plow, the 

 Ra\e, and the Harrow (258) 



On the earth was a man named Nong Ba 

 (a bird resembling silk). The people in 

 heaven discussed Ntzi' Nts'ai Ngeo Shii. Be- 

 low the people discussed the man Nong Ba. 

 He could play three liu shengs every step. 

 In heaven they discussed Ntzi' Nts'ai Ngeo 

 Shii who could sew three seams with one 

 needle. On the earth below they talked about 

 Nong Ba's going to select Ntzi Nts'ai Ngeo 

 Shii for a wife. He went up to Ntzi's land 

 in the sky. Ntzi' told him to go and hoe the 

 ground with Ntzi's oldest son. Ntzi's four 

 sons all went with him. Ntzi said, "Son-in- 

 law, begin to hoe the ground." He replied, 

 "Let my wife's brothers begin first." Then 

 Ntzi's four sons began together. 



Each person hoed four long rows. Then 



Ntzi called to him and he hoed, and hoed six 

 long rows. Ntzi said, "This is truly my son- 

 in-law." After that Ntzi's four sons envied 

 him, and they came back home and talked it 

 over. Ntzi said, "Tomorrow you can take 

 him and throw him into the cistern." 



Next day Ntzi told them to catch fish in 

 the cistern. (They stirred the water until it 

 was muddy and then caught the stupefied 

 fish.) Ntzi also went with them to the edge 

 of the pool and encouraged them to beat the 

 water. 



Ntzi told Nong Ba to beat the water first. 

 He replied, "Let my brothers-in-law beat 

 first." Then Ntzi's oldest son began beating. 

 As soon as he began beating, two horns ap- 

 peared; Ntzi's second son also began beating, 

 and four horns appeared. The third son be- 

 gan beating, and six horns could be seen. 

 They put these horns on their heads, and then 

 Ntzi ordered Nong Ba to beat. When he 

 began beating, there began eight other horns. 

 Then Ntzi said, "This is truly my son-in-law. 

 You are all related through marriage, and you 

 must not quarrel. Come home and get din- 

 ner." 



After this they came back and Ntzi gave 

 his daughter Nts'ai Ngeo Shii to Nong Ba 

 and ordered his four sons to escort his daugh- 

 ter down. Then people saw Ntzi's first son 

 turn into a hoe, the second son into a plow, 

 the third into a rake, and the fourth into a 

 harrow, and the husband and his wife were 

 human beings. 



Then they wrote this song to commemorate 

 the kindness of Ntzi. 



Religious Customs 



He Whistled and the Wind Came. The Be- 

 ginning of the Custom of Whistling for 

 the Wind (33) 



In ancient times there was a renter. His 

 hemp growing in the fields was fine. But a 

 great wind suddenly blew it down. He then 

 considered the fact that the official could de- 

 cide all cases. "Is it possible that he cannot 

 settle about the wind blowing down my 

 hemp?" He arose and went to the yamen 

 and reported to the official. The official was 

 without recourse. He said, "If a person causes 

 the wind to blow and capture one's shadow, 

 that is an empty matter. How can I settle this 



^° This implies that a Lolo woman is a servant, 

 a Chinese woman more like a real wife, and a 

 Miao woman a good daughter-in-law; that all 

 women have to get married, so why should they 

 weep ? 



case of yours?" But because this person had 

 suffered hardship, he could not avoid going 

 into the country and investigating. 



That day, just as he reached that place, 

 there was a man beside the river on the op- 

 posite side whistling for the wind. The official 

 used the circumstances to decide the man's 

 case. He gave the decision, "The wind blows 

 from all directions. Since you call it from 

 across the river, I want you to pay for half 

 the hemp." 



Because he made this decision, today a 

 Ch'uan Miao, when he sets fire to the land 

 (to begin clearing for cultivation), wants a 

 great wind to come and blow, and he will 

 certainly whisde with his lips to call the wind. 

 His method of calling is to make the sounds 

 "}a da da, ja da da" (dsa* Ta- Ta*, dsa* 

 Ta* Ta*) meaning "Wind come come, wind 

 come come," and the wind really comes. The 



