112 



SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 



Giving the Daughter Away in Marriage 



VOL. 



123! 



A Song about Giving Away a Daughter in 

 Marriage (198) 



Bo Na's young daughter is in her home. 

 When she has grown up, she turns her head 

 and looks. She is round Uke the moon, like 

 the light of the new moon. Because relatives 

 saw her, they brought die domestic animals 

 as gifts to the bend below. When her mother 

 saw it, her heart was glad. 



Her father said, "You are a woman. What 

 do you know? Wait until your daughter has 

 grown up, as round as the moon, and the 

 daughter has put on her clothes, as round as 

 the moon. Then you will send your Te Nts'ai 

 Ngeo Tso away. You will spend your silver 

 then, until the chest of drawers is empty." 



At this time the groom came and drove the 

 horses to the ridge below. When the mother 



came out and saw it, she was very happy. 

 Her husband again said, "What do you know? 

 Wait until your daughter's hair is tied into 

 a knot. Then when I have sent our daughter 

 away in marriage, her father's gold and sil 

 ver will go until the barrel is empty." 



The groom's family drove the horses and 

 cattle to the end of the cliff. The mother 

 again saw it and was very happy. The father 

 again said, "You certainly are a woman with- 

 out understanding. Today my daughter has 

 grown up. She can tie her hair into a knot.^^ 

 The day of giving her away has already ar- 

 rived. From this time we will send the 

 daughter out of our home as a bride, and 

 behind there will remain only a pair of old 

 parents like an empty bucket or a dry vine, 

 or dry wood." 



Preparing for the Wedding 



Makjng the Bride's Clothing "■> (78) 



On a clear day Bo Na '^^ turned water from 

 the other side of the mountain into the field. 

 On a rainy day Yeh Gi ^^ carried dirt on his 

 shoulders and poured it on the banks of the 

 rice paddy. When one year's work had been 

 finished, the time came for Bo Na to give her 

 daughter in marriage, and she hurried up 

 those making the clothes. The father also 

 hurriedly bought the cloth for the clothing. 

 Bo Na selected a lucky day to begin to make 

 the clothes. Yeh Gi reckoned on his fingers 

 and said, "The lucky day is already here." 

 Bo Na then took silver and bought the colored 

 thread. Yeh Gi used much silver to buy col- 

 ored silk. 



One day Bo Na sent messages asking two 

 great tailors to come and sew the clothing. 

 One day Yeh Gi also sent messages and also 

 hired two tailors to come and sew the clothes. 

 They sewed Bo Na's silk clothing until they 

 had filled up a chest of drawers. They also 

 sewed satin clothing for Yeh Gi until it filled 

 up a barrel. Bo Na's silk clothing was piled 

 layer on layer in the chest of drawers. The 

 satin clothing was all embroidered. Bo Na 

 carefully arranged all this clothing and waited 

 until the daughter was to wear them as a 



3^ Probably symbolizing that she is a married 

 woman. 



29 Sung at the bride's home die night before her 

 marriage. 



*o The name ho na implies that the woman is 

 married and has given birth to a baby. 



'ii The name Yeh Gi (Se" d5i-^) implies that 

 the man has a wife and children. 



bride, when she became a daughter-in-law. 

 The name of the daughter of Bo Na was 

 Ngeo Tso. The clothing was given her to 

 wear when married to Ntzi Ngeo Wa. 



Yeh Gi also had a girl named Nts'ai Ngeo ' 

 So (nts'ai Oau so*, small virgin girl). He 

 also gave this girl some of the clothing to 

 wear and sent her to marry Wan Yeh Gii Leo 

 (wan §e gy Uu, an elder controlling a dis- 

 trict), who was also a great official. 



When the parents had prepared these silk 

 and satin clothes, and had given them to these 

 two girls, and they had worn them and mar- 

 ried these two officials; then the parents rested 

 their minds.*- 



A Song about Sweeping the Floor (119) 



On a clear day Bo Na swept the floor. 

 When she had swept the parlor, she swept 

 the rooms on both sides. When she had swept 

 the parlor, she brought in wood. When she 

 had swept the parlor, then she waited for her 

 two sisters. 



On a clear day Bo Na again swept the 

 house. When she had swept the parlor, she 

 swept the next room. When she had swept 

 the parlor, she then lighted the wood. She 

 made the fire in preparation for her brothers. 

 She was also going to sweep the rooms on 

 both sides of the parlor. When the rooms on 

 both sides had been swept, she burnt wood. 

 She swept the parlor and the adjacent rooms 

 in preparation for the 3,000 guests from dis- 



*- This means that they had no further cares 

 about these matters. 



