NO. I 



CH UAN MIAO SONGS AND STORIES — GRAHAM 



155 



STORIES CONCERNING FAMILY AFFAIRS 



Opening Doors so Daughters Can Get Mar- 

 ried (169) 



The sky is in its dwelling. The dwelling 

 of the sky is in the bend of the land. The 

 earth is in its dwelling. The dwelling of die 

 earth is at a ridge of land. 



One day the sky dipped itself up high, and 

 the earth became firmly established. Na Bo 

 Ntsong K'ang (an old woman who controls 

 the door) came out in the year it became firm 

 and opened things up (probably forest clear- 

 ings). De }e Do Niang ^° arose and held 

 them firm. He made it firm in the year 

 Ngang Njai Tsong Ni ^^ came to open a 

 yamen. His wife opened a field gate from 

 which the center of the house could be seen.'^^ 

 She also opened a garden gate outside the 

 front gate. This gate was especially for her 

 daughter to use when departing as a bride. 

 Her father also opened a small door in the 

 side of the house and put it down. This door 

 was opened for his daughter Nts'ai Ngeo So 

 (virgin) and faced the side of the cliff. 



The small door ^^ faced both the clifE and 

 the steep hill. These doors were opened up 

 because they wanted die two afterward to be 

 able to go and meet good guests (lovers). 

 Afterward one of these two girls was mar- 

 ried into a family named Hau Ch'en, mean- 

 ing one who can keep watch and forward 

 messages, on the cliff. The other was mar- 

 ried into a good official family named Dao 

 Zen Hmong Zen. 



To make doors in this way is good for the 

 daughters, ah.^* 



A Soldier Returns Home (214) 



In ancient times there was a Miao. He 

 married a wife. Not long afterward he went 

 off and joined the army. But before he had 

 gone his wife had conceived. 



He went several years before he came back. 

 It was autumn when he returned, and the 

 corn was ripe. His family had made some 

 corn cakes. Then the boy cried, saying he 

 wanted to eat the cornbread. The mother 



^0 An old man who goes about everywhere 

 looking. 



11 An old man who divines about proper ways 

 of constructing doors. 



12 Facing the center of the house, to make the 

 jengshui good. 



^3 Called a yao, or waist door, because as high 

 as one's waist. 



^^ The above recognizes it as one of the main 

 concerns of girls to get married. 



rebuked the child, telling him to keep still 

 lest the Chinese find out that they had the 

 cornbread. (They thought the husband was a 

 Chinese). 



Then the soldier said, "Ah, ah, ah, the 

 Chinese knows about it." Then the mother 

 went out and cried and said, "My husband 

 went away and does not return. Today this 

 Chinese man has come to abuse us." Then 

 she wept and complained by turns. 



The husband asked the child, "What is 

 your mother crying about?" The boy said, 

 "My father went away to be a soldier. When 

 my mother thinks about it she is grieved." 

 Then the soldier spoke in the Miao language, 

 and his wife had no doubts but recognized 

 him as her husband. From this time they 

 lived together as a family. 



Two People, Yang Yao and Li Yao (233) 



Yang Yao is a clever man. The wife he 

 married is ugly. Li Yao is an ugly man. 

 He married a very pretty girl. The clever 

 boy was not one who did not want his wife. 

 But the pretty girl did not like her husband. 

 The reason was that her husband was both 

 ugly and stupid. (He did not cohabit with 

 her.) From the time he married the girl he 

 was unable in the least to be affectionate (to 

 hold sexual intercourse), and so the girl found 

 it hard to bear. 



At that time she went home to her moth- 

 er's and spoke to her mother some words of 

 dissatisfaction. The mother decided to marry 

 her to another man. 



That day Li Yao came and spoke to Yang 

 Yao, telling him how he ought to love his 

 wife (this implies sexual relations), and then 

 she would never leave. That night Li Yao's 

 wife came back. Her husband slept with her 

 and held intercourse with her one night. Next 

 day the new husband came, but she was un- 

 willing to go. 



The song was ended.^^ 



A Woman Deserted Her Husband (238) 



In middle ancient times there was a woman 

 named Ngan Fang. She was as beautiful as 

 a flower. Alas, her mother married her when 

 she was young to a rich man. The rich man 

 was very ugly. She slept with him until 



15 The stupid man did not sleep with his wife 

 and have sexual relations with her. It is said that 

 diere are such Miao men but that they are rare. 



