24 



SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 



VOL. 123 



present practice of the Ch'uan Miao of whis- 

 tling for a wind began with this event. Now 

 this custom of calhng tlie wind, both men and 

 women and even children all understand how 

 to do it. 



Why Birds Are No Longer Offered during 

 the Ceremony of Eating New Grain ^^ 

 (58) 



From beneath the heavens one roamed over 

 the earth. He went as far as the home of the 

 industrious son of Jei Ma E.^- To continue 

 speaking, he went to the place where Jei 

 Geh ^3 and Hmong Glo ^* and Dang ^^ dwelt. 



Speaking of an industrious boy's habita- 

 tion and his affairs, he slept until the third 

 watch, at midnight, and awoke and thought 

 of his crop. Jiai P'u of the region of Jei Geh 

 and Hmong Glo and Dang also thought of 

 his farming. The industrious son arose and 

 hoed half a field on the hillside before day- 

 light. When the harvest came, the crop was 

 excellent. The three ancient families ^^ also 

 thought of their farming. 



The industrious son arose and hoed half a 

 field on the hillside before daylight, and when 

 the harvest time arrived the crop was fine. 

 The Dang son also that morning hoed half a 

 field on the hillside, and his crop was also 

 fine. The industrious son's crop was edible, 

 but he waited for it to turn yellow in the 

 autumn, for it was not entirely ripe. The 

 crop of the Dang family's son was reaped and 

 brought in. 



The industrious son's crop was fine, but he 

 had nothing to mix with the grain to offer to 

 his ancestors. The Dang boy said, "I also 

 am unable to find anything to mix with my 

 crop to offer to my ancestors." 



The industrious son said that he must get 

 a hnong lo Ici^'^ bird to offer up before they 

 tasted the new grain. This is a good bird. 

 When he had taken a biscuit made of the 

 grain and the bird and the new grain to the 

 ancestors, the Dang boy said, "I will also go 



21 In ancient times, when observing the cere- 

 mony of eating the new grain, it was necessary 

 for the Ch'uan Miao to offer with the five grains 

 a red bird before the new grain could be eaten. 



32d3ei'' ma-= i•^ 



33 dsei ge, a man named in Chinese Li, or 

 plum. 



34 The Miao Black, for which the Chinese name 

 T'ao is used. 



35TaO, or Mr. King, for which the Chinese 

 name Wang is used. 



36 The three families Jei Geh, Hmong Glo, and 

 Dang. 



37hnoO' lo'^ lai^ a bird that is supposed to be 

 sometimes visible and sometimes invisible. 



and capture one of these birds and come and 

 offer up the new (grain to the ancestors)." 



The industrious son Jei Mo E Di (dsei mo* 

 i* Ti-) carried a brass gun on his shoulder. 

 He went into a forest to shoot a bird with his 

 bow. 



The son of Mr. Dang also carried an iron 

 gun on his shoulder and went and got a good 

 bird. 



The industrious son saw a good kind of a 

 bird in a flock in the grove. The industrious 

 son shot one of them. 



The Dang son also shot one on the hill. 



The industrious son had just brought the 

 bird back to divide into several pieces. 



The Dang boy carried his bird back to 

 skin. 



The industrious boy smelt his red bird, and 

 it was also fragrant. 



The Dang boy smelt his bird, and it was 

 also fragrant. 



The industrious boy took his bird and dried 

 it by the fire. 



The Dang boy also took his bird and dried 

 it by the fire. 



The industrious boy took his bird-meat and 

 put it below the cupboard. 



The Dang boy also took his bird and put 

 it below a barrel. He asked, "Who will be 

 engaged for an early marriage with me? I 

 want to get engaged to Ma Mi Ngeo Tse38 

 for an early marriage." 39 This bride was not 

 intelligent. 



The industrious boy also wanted to get 

 engaged to Ntse Ntso as a daughter-in-law. 

 But this bride was also small and not intelli- 

 gent. 



One day when the industrious boy had gone 

 away on business, the daughter-in-law turned 

 over a piece of dried flesh in the cupboard. 

 She took it and ate it. 



Thus the two birds were eaten up. 



Later when the two brothers came back 

 home, they were industrious as usual. The 

 industrious son slept until the third watch and 

 quickly went to the field. 



The Dang son slept until midnight and 

 also went upon the mountain. 



The industrious boy looked on the small hill 

 and saw a bunch of red water hemp. Out of 

 the hemp rolled a snake as big as a basket. 



The Dang boy, tending to his crops, went 

 down the hill. He saw a bunch of grass out 

 of which there came a striped tiger as big as 

 a big sow. 



The two boys were frightened badly. They 



38 Ma -^ mi-' Oau^' tse". 



39 An early marriage in the sense that the bride 

 was very young. 



I 



