70 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL, I42 



love, going to market, attending feasts, funerals, and memorial cere- 

 monies, listening to a man or a woman sing folksongs, and watching 

 men dance and play the liu sheng. Amusements of men and boys in- 

 clude the above, playing blind man's buff, kicking the shuttlecock, 

 sham battles, "snake protecting her eggs," dogs chasing wild animals, 

 and hunting. At New Year time and at weddings all enjoy watching 

 three men "playing lion." The Ch'uan Miao have no theatricals, but 

 enjoy watching Chinese theatricals in Chinese towns and villages. 

 There is little gambling but a great deal of lovemaking among the 

 Ch'uan Miao. Generally it is not between a man and his wife, but 

 between a man and another man's wife, or a woman and another 

 woman's husband. 



I have found no trace of the couvade among the Ch'uan Miao. 

 After the birth of a child a mother must remain in her home for at 

 least 30 days, or it is believed that calamities will ensue. 



The common belief is that the Ch'uan Miao inhabit the high, steep 

 mountains because they prefer to do so. This is a mistake, for their 

 folktales reveal the fact that they dread the steep paths and high 

 mountains and live there only because they are a defeated people 

 and have not been allowed to live on the more level and more fertile 

 lowlands. Their heaven is called Ntst ni lou gou bih, or the ancient 

 level land of Ntzi (god). There it is level, with no steep mountains 

 to climb. 



The Ch'uan Miao have no organized religion, no temples, no 

 celibate priests, and they make no images of their gods. They com- 

 pletely reject the Chinese gods and their images, and their folktales 

 intimate that harm comes to the Ch'uan Miao from worshiping them. 

 They have a supreme god called Ntzi, but there are no ceremonies to 

 worship him. They say that he is a good god and will help them with- 

 out gifts and ceremonies of worship. This god is sometimes called 

 Ntzi-nyong-leo, which means god, foundation, old, and seems to 

 designate the ancient god who is the foundation of the universe. He 

 has a daughter whom he sometimes sends to help a poor man by 

 becoming his wife. 



There is an immortal called Yei Seo, Yeh Seo, or 56 Seo. He is 

 very wise and kind and will always help people who are in trouble by 

 giving wise and kindly advice. He can make himself visible or invisi- 

 ble and is often seen near a cloud into which he may disappear. He 

 is not worshiped. A female deity called Ts'i-ma-niang-tsai is very 

 compassionate and is merciful and helpful to unfortunate children. 



A warty toad called in Chinese Lai-ke-pao has supernatural power 



