122 



SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 



VOL. 123 



Then they took the silk cocoons and boiled 

 them. They removed the silk and wound it 

 around their winding wheel. Ngan Niao also 

 wove some fine silk cloth. Ntseo Ji also wove 

 a roll of silk. 



The song is ended. 



So}}7e Cats Had a Contest in Singing (260) 



The mother hen bites the round hemp 

 string. 



The round hemp ball rolled into the bend 

 below. 



The small child cries "nga." 



The little child wants to eat big cakes cov- 

 ered with Shu ma seeds. 



Yes. 



On a clear day the hen pecked the round 

 ball of hemp. 



The round ball of hemp rolled over into 

 the water. 



The child cried "nga." 



The child wants to eat big biscuits dipped 

 into bees' honey.'^ 



A Miao Was Glad When a Chinese House 

 Was Burnt {A Song) (261) 



A fire had been built for the pups to keep 

 warm by. It burned the feet of the pups. It 

 was not to burn the pups' feet. It was to burn 

 the Chinese man's main guestroom. 



Yes. 



The fire was built for the pups to warm by. 

 It burned the pup's shoulder. It was not to 

 burn the pup's shoulder. It was to burn the 

 Chinese man's big house. 



Yes. 



A fire was built for the pups to warm by. 

 It was not to burn the pup's shoulder. It was 

 to burn the Chinese man's garden wall. 



Yes. 



The Miao Wor\ Hard and Eat Poorly; the 

 Chinese Work, Little and Eat Well (A 

 Song) (262) 



The pig and the dog went to do farm work. 

 Their master was at home. They two went 

 to do work. Actually, when the dog went 

 he would not work. He would only go walk- 

 ing to the middle of the mountain and pursue 

 and capture foxes and rabbits. 



The pig, because he wanted to eat a great 

 deal, kept his mouth rooting all day until it 

 was dark. But the master did not know this 

 and thought the dog was also industriously 

 hoeing the ground. So he gave the dog rice 



^^ The hidden meanings of this song are made 

 more apparent by the sounds in the Ch'uan Miao 

 language. 



to eat, and said the pig did not do much 

 work. 



At the time of harvest he gave only some 

 husks to die pig to eat. So now it is always 

 said, "The dog is smart. The dog eats rice. 

 The pig is not smart. He eats rice husks." ^® 



A Song about Thunder (275) 



One time, when the sky was clear, Na Bo So 

 (big woman thunder) took a sickle-saw ^° 

 and sawed off a head of a green vegetable in 

 her garden. Je Ruang So (husband dragon 

 thunder) stood on that flowery cliff until the 

 vi/eather was clear. Na Bo So threw her 

 sword and also carried in her hand a sickle- 

 saw and went and cut a head of blue vege- 

 tables. Je So stood in the black sky (in a 

 black cloud in the sky). His hands and feet 

 were both folded, and he slept. His descend- 

 ants were also sleeping with feet and hands 

 folded. When the winter was over, in the 

 spring when the weather was mild, and the 

 place was warm, }e So moved and came down 

 from above. His descendants also came down 

 from their place in the sky. They came with 

 Je So down to earth. 



At first when they arrived Je So arose and 

 struggled (fought) for cities. His descendants 

 also arose and helped him fight for the land. 

 They fought for land and for cities and also 

 intended still to go and struggle for rain, and 

 when they had fought and secured rain they 

 would have water. After they had secured 

 water, they would strive for a big, level flat. 

 After they had secured the flat they would 

 leave it on one side. There was also a field 

 where there is a lake which he left at one 

 side (after moving it). From this time he 

 struggled for the country of Lo Chu the 

 Chinese king and became master. He also 

 contended for the rice paddies of Lo Chu, 

 the Chinese king, and in that country sta- 

 tioned soldiers. 



The song is ended.^^ 



Words of One u/ithout Mother or Brothers 

 (276) 



Ai (a sigh). The grasshopper has no 

 mother. My name is Gong La Tsi' Ma Na.*^ 



"9 The pig here is the Miao, and tlie dog is the 

 Chinese. The Chinese are landlords, the Miao 

 the renters. 



s*' A saw that is curved like a sickle. 



^^ The ancient hero was regarded as great and 

 was called thunder. This story represents his 

 struggling for lands, etc. Lo Chu means Heaven 

 Official, or Son of Heaven. Je So is apparendy 

 the same person as Je Ruang So. 



s- Grasshopper of the field who has no mother. 



