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SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 



VOL. 123 



mother's side, and those on the father's side, 

 and the older and younger brothers to come. 

 They came to welcome your souls back. The 

 filial sons will make an offering of wine and 

 rice to you." ^° 



Incantations Repeated by the Priest to Ex- 

 orcise Demons at the Tso Chai Ceremony 

 (187) 



Yang people will worship demons.^^ On 

 the rabbit day heaven will make offerings to 

 guests. The incantations come from below. 

 The incantation weai's a silver hat. The in- 

 cantation comes from the bend below. He 

 wears a straight hat. The incantation comes 

 and looks. The incantation's hand is like a 

 great fan. After the incantation comes, his 

 hand is as big as a big winnowing basket 

 (large, not deep). The incantation has come 

 to the home of you old parents. The incanta- 

 tion will not address your son's soul. It will 

 not address your grandson's soul. It will not 

 address your mother's soul. It will not ad- 

 dress your father's soul. It will not address 

 the soul of domestic animals. It will not 

 address the soul of the rice grain. It will not 

 address the souls of the five grains. It will 

 not address the souls of the mountain wilder- 

 ness. The incantation has come here. It will 

 address the tongue, it will address speech, it 

 will address sickness, it will address moaning 

 sounds, it will address death and destruction. 

 It will address partings, it will address ig- 

 norant people, it will address lazy demons, 

 it will address fevers, it will address coughs, 

 it will address demons that cause bleeding. 



When it has been repeated, the repeater of 

 incantations will cause the family to know 

 clearly. When it has been repeated, it will 

 cause you to have power. If you repeat it on 

 the mountain, the mountain will fall. If you 

 repeat it on the stone, the stone will break 

 open. I repeat it, looking toward the place 

 the sun sets. I repeat it toward the place 

 where the sun crosses the mountain. I re- 

 peat it toward the place where the moon sets. 

 I repeat it toward the place on the horizon 

 where the wind falls. If I repeat it on the 

 body of the dragon, the dragon will fall into 

 the cave. The insects will all be collected. 



2° The above is sung or chanted three times. 

 There is no real altar. If a group of people 

 gather together for this purpose, it is called an 

 altar. After the song is sung three times, the filial 

 sons arise. 



^^ The world we live in is the yang hiai or 

 world of the yang, and die world where souls 

 live after death is the yin hjai. This is also the 

 Chinese conception. 



When I have finished repeating it and speak- 

 ing, the demons that cause sickness will fall 

 on the central pillar of the house. When it 

 has been repeated, beams will be heaped up 

 in one place. The demon of sickness will be 

 in the propping-pillar of the house. The in- 

 cantation will press down the demon of sick- 

 ness with a heap of beams. If the sick demon 

 (demon of sickness) is pressed on the floor 

 beam, the beam will certainly grow well. 

 When I repeat it I walk toward the place 

 where the sun sets. When I repeat it, I go 

 toward the place where the moon sets.^^ 



An Incantation during the Tso Chai Cere- 

 mony (433) 



Bo Niong and Je Niong, with two demon 

 roads, please drink three cups of wine. After- 

 ward I will give your life ^^ to you (the life 

 of the dog or chick). The flesh of your life 

 is cooked. Again I invite Bo Niong and Je 

 Niong to come and eat. I also request Bo Lu 

 and Je Lu "■* to come afterward and eat your 

 meat. Bo Niong, Je Niong, the meat is 

 cooked. We will also invite the wood demons 

 and the grass demons, the forest demons, the 

 demons in front of the mountain, the demons 

 behind the mountain, the large demons and 

 the small demons, and every demon. You 

 must all come quickly and eat. Those who 

 cannot hear me and whom my voice cannot 

 reach, all come. Come and drink wine and 

 eat meat. When you have eaten, fly into 

 the mountains. When you have eaten, fly into 

 the forests. You must clear the road so the 

 ancestors can lead the soul of the deceased 

 back home.^^ 



2- When the above is finished, then the priest 

 performs the Tso Chai ceremony. 



33 A young dog should be killed at this time, 

 but if it is not killed a recendy hatched chicken 

 must be used. 



^'i Lti is anything inanimate placed on the 

 mountain overnight and not brought back. 



35 The first sentence of this song is repeated 

 as far as "three cups of wine." The three cups 

 of wine are then poured out, dien the dog is killed 

 by cutdng its throat. The blood is splashed or 

 dripped onto the bottom of die door. The dog 

 is burned in the fire until the hair is burnt off, 

 then it is cut into five pieces; the head, one half 

 of the chest with each foreleg, and one half of 

 the remainder of the body with each hind leg. 

 Then the rest is spoken and the dog is offered 

 up and dien thrown away. 



Mr. Shiung went and watched die performance 

 of the ceremony, then had the J(a get who per- 

 formed it repeat the incantation. Written down 

 in the fall of 1935, in the tendi moon. 



