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SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 



VOL. 123 



the body of the sick person. This is done 

 when they beheve that the illness is caused 

 by a demon's having locked a lock and chain 

 around the neck of the sick person. Then he 

 says — 



"Water comes from the sky to grind knives 

 with. On earth are people to cut off inter- 

 course (contacts between men and demons), 

 unloose the brass nets, unloose the iron nets, 

 unloose the sky nets, unloose the earth nets, 

 open up cages and release birds, unloose nets 

 and release fish, unloose brass armor, unloose 

 iron armor, unloose brass nets and iron nets, 

 unloose brass chains and iron chains, unloose 

 brass locks and iron locks, unloose brass 

 threads and iron threads (that have bound 



people). If the head aches, release the body; 

 if the body aches, release the feet, and when 

 the body and the feet have been released, and 

 when the head aches remove the heat (of the 

 body) and when the body aches, it becomes 

 cool. Drink tea, peace-giving tea. Do not 

 wait until daylight. When I say it, immedi- 

 ately depart. If we say it at midnight, depart 

 at midnight. If any do not depart, I will call 

 Rong Sj'in's fire from heaven to burn you 

 away." 



When the ttiaii \ung has spoken this far, 

 he takes the paper chain and the paper net , 

 and the paper lock and puts them all into 

 the winnowing basket, carries them outside 

 the door, and burns them at the crossroads. 



Chants Used for Special Purposes 



Reviving One Who Has Fainted (736) 



The Miao believe as the Chinese believe 

 that there is a poisonous air called sha ch'i 

 ^^\ that kills people. When a person 

 swoons, he has been injured by this poisonous 

 air, and a tuan \ung can revive him by chas- 

 ing away the demons. 



The tuan \ung opens and holds above him 

 an umbrella of oiled paper. He throws a 

 handful of mustardseed. If he has no mus- 

 tardseed, he throws a handful of corn. When 

 he throws he shouts "T'ai, t'ai" and stamps 

 his feet. He says — 



"Beat the sky demon, beat the earth demon, 

 beat the human demon. Beat the sky demon 

 and send back (what the sky demon has 

 brought) the sky sa ch'i. Beat the earth de- 

 mon and send back the earth sa ch'i. Beat 

 the dead people's demons and send away the 

 sa ch'i of the dead people. Beat the demon 

 of the living people and send back the living 

 people's sa ch'i. Beat the year demon and 

 send away the year sa ch'i. Beat the month 

 demon and send away the month sa. Beat 

 the day demon and send away the day sha. 

 Beat die time demon shih heo and send away 

 the time sha; beat the fierce god who wick- 

 edly kills people and turn back the great 

 sha ch'i of everything. T'ai, t'ai (and he 

 stamps with his foot) . Quickly strike, quickly 

 recede. Recede, recede, recede. 



"The bird frightened you and you came. 

 The rat frightened you and you came. A 

 domestic animal frightened you and you came. 

 You stopped on the level spot on the moun- 

 tain and came back. You dropped on the big 

 flat and came back also. You dropped on the 

 cliff and also came. You dropped on the 

 crossroads and also came back. If you do not 



come, my big knife that calls souls and fights 

 demons will be your companion. Today is a 

 good day and tonight is a good night. Come 

 more quickly. Come quickly. Come, come, 

 come back to your bed and come back to 

 your father and your mother. Come and 

 follow your brothers. Live (here) a thousand 

 years, live here a hundred years. Poles cannot 

 pierce into you and nets cannot catch you. 

 You may live here until your hair becomes 

 white. You may live here until you are an 

 old man with hair that is gray. You can sit 

 with your hands on your knees (as old people 

 do) and your knees bent. Come more quickly, 

 come, come. If I call you and you do not 

 come, my ax will be your companion. Come 

 quickly. You have come, you have come." 



When calling the soul, the tuan }{ung grasps 

 an ax. He uses a person who has an egg in 

 his hand or the tuan \ung may hold a 

 rooster in his arms. When the soul arrives, 

 then the egg will turn over. Then he will 

 take the egg and burn it in the fire pit. 

 When the egg is cooked, then the tuan \ung 

 cuts it open and looks and says whether it 

 has a soul or not. The egg must be cooked 

 on an even day of the month, not on an odd 

 day. One, three, or five eggs may be burned. 



Holding Down the Fire Star (Mars) (737) 



"I have held (pressed) down the fire of 

 heaven. I have held down the fire of earth. 

 I have pressed down the fire of the year. I 

 have pressed down the fire of the month. I 

 have pressed down the fire of the day. I have 

 pressed down the fire of the moment (time). 

 I have pressed down the fire of the central 

 room. I have pressed down the center of the 

 fire. I have pressed down the fire of the 



