NO. I 



CH UAN MIAO SONGS AND STORIES — GRAHAM 



213 



rooster, gold nuggets, and lumps of silver. 

 Ha ha. We two ought not to be too big- 

 minded. It is truly hard to carry." The two 

 walked along the road talking and quarreling 

 until they missed their law cases. Afterward, 



when the time of trying the cases had arrived, people. 



neither was there. Henceforth Ntzi separated 

 men and demons lest men and demons plot 

 to get money and injure good people and dis- 

 obey the commands of Ntzi. Therefore peo- 

 ple now cannot see demons and demons fear 



EXPLANATIONS OF CEREMONIES, CUSTOMS, AND THINGS 



(Vhy the Tuan Kung (Do Nun) Kills a 

 Chicken, Sprinkles Blood on a Sic\ Per- 

 son, and Wears Paper Horns on His 

 Head (31) 



In ancient times there was a family with 

 a daughter named Dso.^° Her family greatly 

 loved her. This girl grew up and a very rich 

 and honorable family came to take her in 

 marriage. 



Unexpectedly this girl became married into 

 a family of a lowly servant of the devil king, 

 in the midst of the sky, who slaughtered 

 cattle. She lived in his home three days, then 

 returned to the home of her parents. She did 

 not realize how fast time had flown, for when 

 she returned she had actually been there a 

 whole year. 



One day the girl's parents told her brothers 

 to go and bring this daughter back for a visit. 

 The oldest brother traveled a day, but he did 

 not know by what road he could reach that 

 home. The next day the second and third 

 oldest brothers went, and at night they re- 

 turned and reported that they could not find 

 the way. That night their youngest brother, 

 only two years old, said, "Older brothers, are 

 you unable to get to sister's home?" They 

 replied, "That is so." He said, "That time we 

 went through the black cave in the hill over 

 there." 



Next day they went through that cave and 

 of course went away through the dark, and 

 they heard the sound of roosters crowing and 

 of dogs barking. They saw people coming 

 and going to work, and realized that they 

 had already arrived at the sister's home. 

 When the sister saw that her older brothers 

 had arrived, she was truly very happy. When 

 it was almost dark her husband returned and 

 asked, "Who are these?" She said, "These 

 are my brothers." Her husband very respect- 

 fully enquired about them, and they remained 

 diere three days. 



The sister's husband then said, "Older 

 brother, our king will kill a water buffalo 

 tomorrow. I will take you to see it, and we 

 will see whether you can recognize a few 

 water buffaloes or not." The older brother 



so Dso means bright and straight. 



said, "What kind of talk is this? Can't we 

 people even recognize a water buffalo?" On 

 the next day the husband of his sister led 

 him there. In a little while he heard the 

 bronze bells and the iron bells resounding 

 and saw very many people calling, and they 

 led a water buffalo forth to butcher her. He 

 looked and saw that they were leading a 

 woman. His sister's husband then asked him, 

 "Do you recognize her?" He said, "Don't be 

 in a hurry about killing her. She is my aunt 

 by marriage. I recognize her because she had 

 malaria before she died." The demon hus- 

 band then went and reported to the emperor 

 saying, "This female water buffalo is very 

 lean." The king of demons said, "Release her. 

 Secure a male water buffalo to kill. The 

 demon then went and led another up. Again 

 he asked, "Do you recognize him?" He said, 

 "I cannot recognize this one." The demon 

 cried out with a loud voice "Wei tzo," and 

 the head of that man rolled into the gutter.^^ 

 The demon king then said, "Kill one more." 

 The demon then again went and led one up 

 whose leg was lame and asked him, "Can 

 you recognize this water buffalo?" He re- 

 plied, "This is my uncle, for he has a sore 

 foot." The demon then reported to the king 

 of demons saying, "This buffalo's foot is lame 

 and it is leaner, so that it cannot be killed 

 and taken for guests to eat." The king of 

 demons said, "Release him. Bring another fat 

 calf to kill." 



The demon brought another wealthy old 

 man and asked, "Do you recognize this water 

 buffalo?" He replied, "I dare not tell. This 

 is my neighbor. He is a millionaire, Mr. Wu." 

 He strongly urged the demon saying, "Please 

 tell the emperor to forgive him." The demon 

 again reported to the king and die king said, 

 "Today I do not know your reason or whose 

 bribe you have taken that you do not kill a 

 water buffalo for me. I will determine your 

 punishment for receiving bribes." The demon 

 butcher was helpless and could only with one 

 hard stroke cut off the water buffalo's head 

 and report to the emperor, "I have already 



81 The call Wei tzo is used when anybody 

 greatly exerts his strength. 



