92 



SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 



VOL. 12^ 



Old Wang Fu again went to the town. He 

 saw that the brass locks were ornamented. 

 He also saw that the iron locks were v.'hite 

 like silver. He took home the brass and the 

 iron locks which he had bought and gave the 

 brass locks to the daughter Nts'ai Ngeo to 

 lock chests of drawers with. He gave the 

 iron locks to Wang Fang's daughter Nts'ai 

 Ngeo So to lock clothes barrels ®^ with. 



Methods of Cutting up Meat for Ceremonial 

 Offerings ^^ (131) 



If you use a pig for the offering, you must 

 take a long rope and lead the pig to the 

 front door of the family that is making the 

 offering. Take the rope and put it over the 

 beam that holds up the ceremonial drum. 

 When it has gone over, the one acting as 

 priest hands the rope to the dead person (acts 

 as if he were doing so). 



It is the same in the Tso Chai ceremony, 

 but in this a bowl is placed on the table and 

 clothing is placed over it and it represents 

 the dead. The animal is offered to the bowl 

 as representing the dead (the rope is held out 

 to it). When this is being done, the priest 

 repeats the words appropriate at this time. 

 When this is finished, die rope is handed to 

 die one who kills the animal. 



The method of presentation is the same 

 with all animals. A chicken is not tied by a 

 rope, but its body is brought and presented. 



This ceremony of presentation is called in 

 Chinese giao sen, or presenting the body of 

 the animal. 



When the ceremonial words of presenta- 

 tion are finished, the animal or rooster is 

 killed. All animals are presented or given in 

 the same way. The difference is in the 

 method of cutting up the meat. 



The pig is cut up thus. The top of the 

 head above the ears is one piece. The nose 

 is one piece. Above the nose is divided into 

 two pieces. The two faces and the ears of 

 the pig are made into two pieces, each with 

 a cheek and an ear, two pieces in all. The 

 forehead is divided into four pieces. In all 

 the head is divided into nine pieces. 



The body must also be divided into nine 

 pieces. The four limbs are four pieces in all. 

 The chest and abdomen are divided into four 

 pieces. The tail is one piece, in all nine big 

 pieces. 



(No footnote 80.) 



^^ Round boxes or barrels flat on die tops and 

 bottoms, used to put clothing in. 



^2 This is not a song, but a statement of method 

 as passed on by word of mouth. 



The insides — The tongue, from the root to 

 the tip, is divided into nine pieces. The heart 

 is divided into nine pieces, the kidneys into 

 nine pieces, the sweetbread into nine pieces, 

 the stomach into nine pieces, the bladder into 

 nine pieces, and the large intestine and the 

 small intestine are each divided into nine 

 pieces; then the pig is all divided up. 



The person making the offering must make 

 it nine times. 



How to offer up the chicl{en. — The entire 

 chicken is given into the priest's hands, and 

 he offers it up to the dead person (or to the 

 bowl representing him). When it has been 

 offered once, the chicken is given to another 

 person to be killed. When it has been killed, 

 then it is boiled, and when done it is called in 

 Chinese suh chi or cooked chicken. The 

 chicken must be cut into five pieces. The 

 first, head to the two wings, is one piece. 

 Then the two wings and the back and the 

 breast are divided into two pieces. The two 

 legs as far as the tail are two pieces. In all 

 there are five pieces that are offered. 



The name for this offering in Chinese is 

 suh hsien, or presenting an offering that is 

 cooked. 



If a person is very poor and cannot offer 

 up a living creature, he must offer an egg. 

 The method of cutting it up is to divide it 

 into five pieces. 



If a sheep is offered, it is not cut up but is 

 merely offered whole, and that is all. 



When a family uses a cow or a water buf- 

 falo, it is different from what is said above. 

 The cow's body must be divided into 33 

 pieces. The cow or the water buffalo is the 

 biggest sacrifice. 



A Song about Presenting Clothing aiid Chests 

 of Drawers to the Bride-to-be (285) 



When I roam all over the world, diere is a 

 reason. For Tsong Na's (door mother) affair 

 has arisen. Speaking of the earth, I roamed 

 all over the sky. I went to Tsong Gi's dwell- 

 ing. Tsong Na was sleeping. She wanted to 

 enter the door to the sky. Tsong Gi was sleep- 

 ing. He also wanted to go to die gate of the 

 sky. It is said, "The gate to the sky is opened 

 to let the mother of the sun enter." When the 

 sun's father had come out, shining brightly 

 he went to the pass on the ridge. His grand- 

 son went shining into the gulch. The sun's 

 mother came through die border of heaven. 

 The sun's mother is like the face of one who 

 has been tanned by the sun. The light of the 

 mother of the sun shone onto the chest of 

 drawers that Bo Na had carried out to dry 

 in the sun. He will shine on the chest of 



