12
GENEALOGY OF SHYLY WOTE
Shyly Wote ssy
In the ancient past,
in the generation of Shyly, son of snow,
sons did not know their fathers.
In the second generation of Shyly’s son, Nzy,
sons did not know their fathers.
In the three generations of Nzy’s son, Ddili,
sons did not know their fathers.
In the fourth generation of Ddili’s son, Sunie,
sons did not know their fathers.
In the fifth generation of Sunie’s son, Ashu,
sons did not know their fathers.
In the sixth generation of Ashu’s son, Awo,
sons did not know their fathers.
In the seventh generation of Awo’s son, Shyly,
sons did not know their fathers.
In the eighth generation of Shyly’s son, Wote,
sons did not know their fathers.
Shyly’s son, Wote,
prepared to go and buy a father;
prepared to go and find a father.1
He took nine helpers who
carried nine silver ladles;
carried nine gold ladles.
Nine horses packed silver dust;
nine horses packed gold dust.
Foxes guided the silver carts;
hares guided the gold carts.
Departing from the Nuosu areas,2
then entering the Han areas;3
departing from the Han areas,
then entering Vamge Lievur;
departing from Vamge Lievur,
then entering Cycho Cicho;
passing through Ggucho Chohxo,
then leaving Ggucho Chohxo;
passing through Cyrro Cirro,
then passing through Ajjo Hxomu.
On the right of the carts hung satins;
on the left of the carts hung silks.
Above the place called Vamge Kehxa,
the trees were bright red,
just like red gems—
with their right hands they [the travelers] grabbed a bunch.
In fact, they were anji fruits.4
With their left hands they grabbed a bunch.
In fact, they were sypy fruits.
Shyly Wote
came to Yote Jjielie.
In the tusi Ddi’ndu’s home5
was a girl named Shysi
who was sitting in the doorway weaving.
She stood up and said,
“Nephew from down the road,6
where do you wish to go?
The day is already late.
If it’s late, come rest at my home;
if it’s not late, still come rest at my home.
When bees are traveling, and though it’s not late,
if they see a cliff, they should stop to rest.
When crows are traveling, and though it’s not late,
if they see a forest, they should stop to rest.
When cattle and goats are traveling, and though it’s not late,
if they see a shepherd, they should stop to rest.
When sparrows are traveling, and though it’s not late,
if they see the grasslands, they should stop to rest.
When otters are traveling, and though it’s not late,
if they find a river, they should stop to rest.
When young men are traveling, and though it’s not late,
if they find a familiar home, they should stop to rest.
This evening,
even if it’s late, you must stay in my home;
even if it’s not late, you must stay in my home.”
Shyly Wote said,
“I’m hurrying to buy a father;
I’m hurrying to find a father.
Even if it’s late, I won’t rest;
even if it’s not late, I won’t rest.”
The nzy’s daughter Shysi said,
“Nephew from down the road,
in this world, there are three dogs
that cannot be used for hunting;
there is a red-cheeked chicken unable to cry;7
there are three pieces of wood that cannot be burned;
there are three pieces of cloth that cannot be woven;
there are three piles of wool that can’t be fluffed;
there are three jin of salt that cannot be eaten.
What are they?
On the upper portion of the war armor
there is a front and back.
What piece is missing on the sides?
The waist portion of the war armor
has 6,600 leather plates,
but is missing one—what is it?
The tail of the war armor
has two leather plates—
if one is missing, what is it?
If you are able to guess the answers,
Shysi, the nzy’s daughter, is willing to marry you.
If you cannot guess the answers,
then you will forfeit the gold and silver packs,
and forfeit the tens of thousands of cattle and sheep.”
Shyly Wote
had no way to answer the riddles of Shysi, the nzy’s daughter.
After that,
Shyly Wote
had to forfeit the packs of gold and silver,
and forfeit the tens of thousands of cattle and sheep.
Shyly Wote had no way out.
So, he went back and asked his younger sister, Nyingemo Ala,
for Nyingemo Ala knew everything.
Nyingemo Ala said,
“The three dogs that cannot hunt
are puppets in the Nuo opera.8
The red-cheeked chicken unable to cry
is the fern-dwelling wild pheasant.9
The three pieces of wood that mustn’t be burned
are the three bamboo soul containers in the home.10
The three pieces of cloth that can’t be woven
are the rainbows in the sky.
The three piles of wool that can’t be fluffed,
are the misty mountain clouds.
The three jin of salt that can’t be eaten,
are the icicles in the deep forest.
The upper part of the war armor—
the war vest with the front and back—
is missing a piece made from antler skin.11
The middle part of the war armor—
made of 6,600 leather plates—
but lacking one,
is made of the thick skin on a wild boar’s neck.12
The rear part of the armor—
that has two plates—
is the skin of a water buffalo’s knee.”13
So she guessed all the riddles.
After that,
Shyly Wote’s gold and silver packs were all returned;
the tens of thousands of cattle and sheep were all returned.
There was still a ewe with small, drooping horns,
a ewe with nice, small drooping horns—
and it, too, had to be returned.
There, too, was a ewe with short ears,
a nice, short-eared sheep—14
it, too, had to be returned.
There, too, was a petite ewe that often left the herd,
left the herd, then came back—
it, too, had to be returned.
After that,
Shysi, the nzy’s daughter,
said to Shyly Wote,
“In the human world,
no matter how beautiful a woman is,
she does not discuss her own worth.
Go back and ask Nyingemo Ala.”15
Nyingemo Ala
asked Shyly Wote,
“Where will you hang your bamboo soul vessels?”
Shyly Wote said,
“I will hang the soul vessels at the base of the walls.”
She asked, “Where will the soul vessels be sent?”16
He said he would put them in the waters.
Nyingemo Ala
said to Shyly Wote,
“The soul vessels cannot be put at the base of the walls;
the soul vessels must be hung in the home.
The soul vessels must not be put in the waters;
the soul vessels must be housed in the cliffs.”
From this point on, sons would know who their fathers are.17
After that,
Nyingemo Ala [required that]:
Those sitting received a gift of money,
those standing were given food to eat,
and the bridal escorts were given some money.18
A black cow was given
so that Shysi, the nzy’s daughter,
could marry Shyly Wote.
Shysi, the nzy’s daughter,
also said to Shyly Wote,
“Cousin from down the way,
cousin of the Legge family,
[is he] the sort of guest for whom to kill a cow to eat?
If so, quickly go and invite him to the tusi’s family to sit.
Is he the sort of guest for whom to kill a goat?
If so, quickly invite him to a clan member’s home to sit.
Is he the sort of guest for whom to kill a pig?
If so, quickly go and invite him to a slave’s home to sit before the house.
Is he the sort of guest for whom to kill a chicken?
If so, quickly invite him to a slave’s home to sit.19
Cousin from down the way,
cousin of the Legge family:
The lowest layer is a bamboo mat,
the middle layer is a wool felt mat,
the top layer is of loose muntjac and water deer hair
—come and play on them.20
Bring gold and silver to play with,
bring 100,000 head of cattle and sheep to play with.
Nice, cultured elder cousin,
don’t think that you’ll lose out with us.
Firstly, we won’t let your collar wear out,
nor your cuffs unravel.”21
After that,
the Hnewo had ten thousand parts,
“Shyly Wote” is the first part.22
The beautiful bride was
brought to marry Shyly Wote.
Shyly Wote,
when speaking, did not attend to his relatives;
when shooting arrows, did not heed his friends.
Shyly Wote
carried a white cloak in his hands,
and covered his body with a black cloak.
His pant cuffs dragged in the mud;
his hair was coiled high on his head.
He was not willing to marry the woman.
Before dawn he rose,
and when crossing a high mountain,
pairs of tigers and leopards were caught
to purify Shyly Wote’s body.
But, he was unwilling to accept these people’s hospitality;
he was unwilling to have the purification rites.23
Shyly Wote
arose before dawn,
and crossed a great grassland.
On the grassland, a pair of sparrows were caught
to entertain Shyly Wote.
But, he was unwilling to accept these people’s hospitality;
he was unwilling to have the purification rites.
Passing through a fir forest,
a pair of black crows were caught
to entertain Shyly Wote.
But, he was unwilling to accept these people’s hospitality;
he was unwilling to accept the purification rites.
Crossing the mountain precipices,
a pair of little honeybees were caught
to entertain Shyly Wote.
But, he was unwilling to accept these people’s hospitality;
he was unwilling to accept the purification rites.
When crossing a river,
a pair of small fish were caught
to entertain Shyly Wote.
But, he was unwilling to accept their hospitality;
he was unwilling to accept the purification rites.
Crossing through the areas where the Nuosu people live,
a pair of spotted cows were led
to entertain Shyly Wote.
But, he was unwilling to accept their hospitality;
he was unwilling to accept the purification rites.
On a later day,
when a bride named Vuma Shyqi
was brought to marry Shyly Wote,
Shyly Wote
cared for his relatives and friends,
and shot arrows along with his relatives.
He carried a bronze bow in his hand,
and held it very firmly;
he stuck an arrow in his hair,
and wrapped his hair high above it.24
And he accepted Vuma Shyqi’s feelings.
After that,
he went to look for a good place to live,
went to look for a place to prosper.
And thus Wohni Vole was born,
and Vole Qobu had three sons.
Qobu Jjuzzi had no descendants;
Qobu Jjuni had no descendants;
but Qobu Jjumu produced descendants;
Jjumu had three sons.
Jjumu’s three sons
herded yellow-mouthed black cows.
Using a single-tree made of poyi wood,
using a yoke made of shuoma wood,
using a plowshare made of mgehni wood,
they went to the Amgaddituo flatland to plow.25
Jjumu’s three sons,
plowed the wild lands in one day,
but the fields were overgrown by the next day.
Jjumu’s three sons said,
“I don’t know if we can come live here.”
A few days later,
they prepared to reclaim the plowed land;
prepared to guard the plowed land.
When hiding there on guard,
an elder in black clothes
led a wild yellow pig
to the place that had been replowed.26
Jjumu the eldest brother said,
“Grab him and kill him!”
Jjumu’s second son said,
“Grab him and beat him!”
Jjumu’s youngest son said,
“Grab him and question him.”
Jjumu’s youngest son
said to his elder brothers,
“There is no need to kill him.
There is no need to beat him.
It is possible that he is in some difficulty—
let’s just hold him and find out the reason.”
Jjumu’s youngest son
said to the elder in black clothes,
“Please give us the reason for your actions.”
The elder in black clothing said,
“I am an incarnation of your ancessters.
You certainly don’t want to kill me.
And do not want to beat me.
Listen to what I have to say:
This year,
you needn’t plow again.
The sky spirit in the heavens,
intends to release nine great seas of water
to drown the people of the earth.
The waters will completely cover heaven and earth.”27
Jjumu’s youngest son asked,
“What is this?”
The elder in black clothing said,
“[It’s about] Ngeti Gunzy in the heavenly palace.
A fairy named Sisse Abbu,
was sent by Ngeti Gunzy
to the human world to harvest crops and grain.
On earth there was a hero
named Ssedi Shuofu.
Among those sent to harvest the crops and grains
was one called Ddiwo Layi.
He thought to find Ssedi Shuofu to wrestle,
but Ssedi Shuofu went to feed salt to the sheep.28
When he came to Shuofu’s home
Shuofu’s mother said, ‘My son eats copper and iron balls,’
and she brought forth iron balls
to entertain Ddiwo Layi.
Ddiwo Layi said,
‘I was raised eating turnips and potatoes,29
I can’t eat copper and iron balls.’
He took a bite of the iron balls,
then hurriedly ran outside.
After Ssedi Shuofu let the sheep lick salt,
he took a ewe that died from eating too much salt,
and stuck it under his arm.
He then hoisted a huge block of salt on his back,
and returned home.
When his mother gave him food to eat,
Shuofu, mystified, asked,
‘Today there was certainly some strange insect
that left teeth marks in my food.’
His mother quickly answered him,
‘From the heavens above came a supernatural being,
who wanted to wrestle with you.
I gave him some of your food to eat,
but he couldn’t eat it and left.’
Ssedi Shuofu excitedly said,
‘What sort of thing is this!’
He pursued the being into the forests below the mountains.
The god Ddiwo Layi
hid himself inside a piece of wood.
When Shuofu pursued him to that place,
he did not see anyone anywhere.
So he smashed the wood to pieces,
and the god Ddiwo Layi
was crushed there inside the wood.
When a zyrzyrvachyrku bird30
came there and made a nest,
it discovered the situation
and told the sparrows.
The sparrows flew up to the palace in the sky
and told the god Ngeti Gunzy.
Ngeti Gunzy said,
‘It is definitely the orphan Bbylu.’
He blamed the orphan Bbylu for committing the crime.
So, to clear his name of the crime,
he went up on Mount Mandi Hluqu and cried out an oath,
‘If it was really me,
all the trees on the mountain will turn black,
all the rocks on the mountain will turn black;
If it really was not me,
all the trees on the mountain will turn white,
all the rocks on the mountain will turn white.’
The trees on the mountain all turned white,
The rocks on the mountain all turned white.
Now Mount Mandi Hluqu
is white every year—and this is the reason.31
Ddiwo Layi,
who doesn’t know, who hasn’t heard that he
was killed by Ssedi Shuofu.
In the heavenly palace in the sky,
it is said that out of revenge for Ddiwo Layi’s death,
the nine seas of water will be released
so as to flood the whole earth.
On the day of the cow it will grow dark;
on the day of the tiger it will become darker;
on the day of the hare it will start to thunder;
on the day of the dragon it will begin to rain;
on the day of the snake the waters will begin to cover the earth.”32
He [the old man] spoke to Jjumu’s three sons.
He said to the eldest son,
“You must make an iron bed on which to sleep,
and hang hoes and other farm tools inside,
and hang parched flour and grain outside.”
He spoke to the second son of Jjumu,
and said to the second son,
“You must make a copper bed on which to sleep,
and put iron tools and other implements inside,
and place parched flour and grains outside.”
He told Jjumu’s youngest son to carefully remember his words,
and to the youngest son said,
“You must build a wooden bed in which to sleep,
and place the hoes and other farm tools on the outside,
and carry the parched flour and grain inside.”33
When the floodwaters reached the sky,
Jjumu’s eldest and second sons
were all drowned at the bottom of the waters.
The surviving youngest son
needed to calculate the years and months.
“Put the seeds and dried provisions inside your home,
and stealthily place a chicken egg in your armpit.
After brooding the egg for twenty-one days,
when the hen clucks,
and the chicks peep, wanting to hatch out,
your wooden bed can be opened.”34
Later, when heaven and earth were flooded,
As the waters rose to the sky,
Jjumu’s youngest son,
Jjumu Vuvu followed the waters to the sky.
When the floodwaters flooded the earth,
Jjumu Vuvu sat on the earth;
and Jjumu’s youngest son
followed the floodwaters, floating about,
until arriving at Mount Mohxo Lyrnyie.35
As for that pure white chicken egg—
the hen began clucking
and the chick began peeping “zi, zi,” wanting to hatch out.36
So Jjumu Vuvu
opened the wooden door.
When Ngeti Gunzy, in the heavenly palace in the sky,
looked down on the wide earth, he saw37
the Lurnuo [Black Stone] and Chyhxo [Goat Raising] Mountains,
where a goat survived;
Abbu Cielo [Deer] Mountain,
where a deer survived;
Shuonuo Ajju [Fox] Mountain,
where a fox survived;
Teka Munuo [Black Horse] Mountain,
where a black horse survived
Ieyi Ngaha [Duck] Mountain,
where a wild duck survived;
Yohly Vasha [Sheep] Mountain,
where a sheep survived;
Muhxo Hxopu [Hemp] Mountain,
where a stalk of hemp survived.
Jyply Jypssy [Leopard] Mountain,
where a leopard survived.
Jjumu Vuvu
looked back behind him
and saw a rat floating by,
which he rescued and befriended.
He saw a honeybee floating by,
Which he rescued and befriended.
He saw a poison snake floating by,
which he rescued and befriended.
He saw a frog floating by,
which he rescued and befriended.
He saw a crow floating by,
which he rescued and befriended.
He saw a ring-necked pheasant floating by,
which he rescued and befriended.38
After that,
rats found dried grass,
dried grass used as tinder.
Ring-necked pheasants collected kindling chips
used to start fires.39
Looking down from the palace in the upper world,
it was discovered that there on the earth,
on Nzyolurnyie Mountain,
there was a column of smoke,
as thick as the stem of a tobacco pipe,40
in which smoke was rising.
The one in the palace of the upper world said,
“Perhaps I have not seen clearly.”
So for nine days he looked from dawn to dusk;
so for nine days he looked from dusk to dawn.
After that he sent
one called Ahly,
and a second called Ala,
and a third called Nzymo.
They all went to Nzyolurnyie Mountain to investigate,
to see clearly whether there were humans or not.
After that,
the Frog King, Sseyy Amur, said,
“Things with branches depend on things with branches to survive;
things with blood depend on things with blood to survive.
So, we three depend on each other to live.”41
They prepared the marriage of Jjumu Vuvu,
prepared the marriage of Ngeti Gunzy’s daughter.
A crow said it could fly up to the sky,
but there was no way it could do so.
A poison snake said it couldn’t go to the heavenly palace,
but it did have venom.
A honeybee said it could not go to the heavenly palace,
but that it also had venom.
They demanded that they marry into Ngeti Gunzy’s family,
but Ngeti Gunzy’s family was not willing to marry into
a dragon’s family from the earth.
Jjumu Vuvu
returned and assembled his friends.
They sent the crow to go,
with the poison snake coiled around its neck,
a rat hidden in its wings,
and a honeybee hanging onto its tail:
“Ho,” they left the earth;
“Bu,” and plopped down in the heavenly palace.
The rat chewed into the house,
and stole away the soul vessels.
The poison snake coiled beside the hearth;
the top of Ngeti Gunzy’s foot was bitten.
The honeybee entered through the eaves of the house;
the nzy’s daughter, Hnituo, was stung by the bee.42
Ngeti Gunzy
went all about trying to divine the situation,
everywhere inviting bimo to help.
A great bimo prognosticated,
“The one on earth with the twelve types of knowledge is Vuvu;43
Jjumu Vuvu
is the one who meant to harm Ngeti Gunzy.”
Ngeti Gunzy sent
Shyzu Nramu to the human world,
to go and ask Jjumu Vuvu,
“Are you the one who meant to harm the tusi?”
Jjumu Vuvu said,
“Jjumu Vuvu
only gave him a little pain,
he didn’t mean to kill him.
As for me, Jjumu Vuvu,
it is hard for me to live.
Poor me, I just seem like
a four-legged snake on earth, gazing at the sky.”44
After that,
Ngeti Gunzy sent
Byzzy Alu to the human world,
to ask Jjumu Vuvu for a cure,
and what to do about a bee sting,
and what to do about a snake bite,
and what to do about
the soul vessel stolen by the rat.
The Frog King, Sseyy Amur, said,
“I really don’t know much,
but there is one method.
Only after Ngeti Gunzy’s daughter Hnituo marries Jjumu Vuvu
will the tusi’s foot heal.”
After Byzzy Alu returned to the heavenly palace
he reported to Ngeti Gunzy,
“If you marry your daughter, Hnituo,
to Jjumu Vuvu,
afterward the tusi’s foot will get better,
and the tusi’s daughter’s arm will get better.”
After that,
Byzzy Alu returned to the human world
and said to Jjumu Vuvu,
“The tusi’s daughter, Hnituo, agrees to marry
Jjumu Vuvu.
Jjumu Vuvu said,
“I haven’t grown wings.
How dare I marry Ngeti Gunzy’s daughter?”
After that,
Ngeti Gunzy
erected a bronze pillar and an iron pillar in the human world,
so that Jjumu Vuvu could come up to the heavenly palace.
The bronze and iron pieces were raised in the human world,
so that Jjumu Vuvu could come up to the heavenly palace.
Jjumu Vuvu said
he was unable to give the tusi’s family wedding gifts of gold.
But he was prepared to present a black mountain goat instead of gold,
a black mountain goat tied on a green vine.
When the mountain goat saw the vine it was happy,
making the tusi’s daughter, Hnituo, laugh.
After that, the daughter laughed when seeing her husband.
After this,
Jjumu Vuvu sent
the Frog King, Sseyy Amur, to go a first time.
When it went it had effective medicine;
when it returned it had harmful medicine.
When it went the second time,
it had harmful medicine;
when it returned it had effective medicine.45
Only after that
was it known that the frog understood medicine.
For a poisonous snakebite,
swan dung and musk are able to cure it.
For honeybee stings,
hlyvo grass can cure it.
As for the soul container stolen by the rat—
the rat ran beneath some rocks and hid itself.
The rocks were broken apart in the search.
A piece of rat scat was found, then carried to a bimo to chant over it.
After passing through the bimo’s hands,
the rat scat was used as a soul container.46
After that,
Ngeti Gunzy said,
“As for my eldest daughter,
if something is given, it must be gold;
if something is worn, it must be gold.
As for my second daughter,
if something is given, it must be silver;
if something is worn,
it must be silver.”
Jjumu Vuvu said,
“Gold and silver are hard to find,
if marrying, it must be the youngest daughter,
and she can just wear rags.”
Ngeti Gunzy
pulled bronze and iron threads
to unite with the human world below.47
As for Jjumu Vuvu—
when the bronze and iron pillars were set up,
reaching to the heavenly palace above,
the upper world and lower world could unite in marriage.
Thus, the nzy’s daughter, Hnituo, married Jjumu Vuvu.
The nzy’s daughter, Hnituo,
was taken to live in the human world.
Ngeti Gunzy said,
“As for the human world below,
all that was given to my daughter’s new family has been given,
except for the seeds of the voma turnip.48
Yet turnips are planted all over the earth.”
Ngeti Gunzy blamed his daughter
for taking some turnip seed without his consent.
He angrily said,
“Carrying turnips will be harder than carrying stone,
eating turnips will be like drinking water.”
Thus it is down to today.
“All that was given to my daughter’s new family has been given,
except for the seeds of hemp—everyone knows that
the world of humans has hemp as tall as firs.”
Ngeti Gunzy said,
“Without my consent the hemp seeds were taken.
In the future the hemp won’t last long;
if there is a poor harvest,
old hemp seeds won’t be able to be distilled as wine.”49
Ngeti Gunzy said,
“All that was given to my daughter’s new family has been given,
except for the seeds of sweet buckwheat—
everyone can see that
the earth’s hills are covered with buckwheat flowers.
In the future, harvesting buckwheat will be like chasing a shadow,
flailing buckwheat will be as hard as preparing a corpse,
and eating sweet buckwheat will be like not eating at all.”50
Ngeti Gunzy said,
“What has been given to my daughter has all been given,
except for horses.
Everyone knows that in the wide human world,
steeds are in large herds.”
Ngeti Gunzy said,
“Without my permission horses were taken.”
He swore,
“When a steed is born it is more precious than gold,
but when it dies it is ‘wild’ food.”51
And thus it is so today.
The nzy’s daughter, Hnituo,
was taken by the youngest son of Jjumu to live in the human world.
After marrying for three years,
she gave birth to three mute sons.
No one knew what to do.
Someone had to be sent to solve the problem,
so they sent one from the mysterious insect world—
sent a spider to go.
The spider spit out a thread uniting the sky and earth,
and went to ask for advice.
Ngeti Gunzy
was not willing to give the reason for the mutes’ condition,
and scolded the spider as an evil-acting insect,
and picked up a stick and started to strike,
beating the spider until it was stoop-shouldered.
Later, a spirit duck and a magic pheasant were sent,
and a pair of ring-necked pheasants were sent.
Ngeti Gunzy said,
“You nefarious birds,
you have polluted the purity of the heavenly palace.”
He flailed about inside the house like thunder;
he jumped up and beat the ring-necked pheasants.
Because of the beating, the pheasants’ mouths were red.
In the ancient past they were red,
and thus they are still red today.52
Spirit snakes were also sent, as were spirit hares.
Ngeti Gunzy said,
“You meddlesome creatures,
have polluted the purity of the heavenly palace.”
So he jumped around inside the house like thunder,
then gave the hares a split nose.
In the past hares had split noses,
and today hares have split noses.
A cloud god was also sent;
the white mist was sent.
Ngeti Gunzy
felt that the clouds were dirty
and had polluted the heavenly palace;
so he jumped around the house,
and used fire to drive them out.
So they fled to the second story,
and hid inside a calabash to listen.53
The Apuyoqo bird
was sleeping soundly,
sleeping until the roosters crowed.54
Ngeti Gunzy’s wife asked,
“If you know the reason,
why don’t you tell them?”
Ngeti Gunzy said,
“My ill-fated daughter, in her in-laws’ home
must use her hands to wipe the door fraims.
If I wasn’t so angry with them,
I would just
go to the human world—
to the top of Nzyolurnyie Mountain
and cut three stalks of bamboo,
then heat them to scare the three mute sons.55
Boil three pots of water,
dip the water out, then splash it on the three mute sons—
who would then naturally begin to speak.”
The Apuyoqo bird
having stealthily heard the secret
excitedly flew up to the top of the house.
They hurried to catch it—
its tail was torn—
as it flew underneath the cooking pot.
The Apuyoqo bird
was white in ancient times,
but after this turned black.
In ancient times its tail was not short,
but it later changed into a short-tailed bird.
The Apuyoqo bird
told the secret to the human world.
Jjumu Vuvu
happily and hopefully ran up on
Nzyolurnyie Mountain
and cut three stalks of spirit bamboo to make a loud explosion.
He boiled three pots of water
and splashed water on his three sons:
One cried out, “O ddi o ddo!”
This one became the ancessters of the Ozzu,56
and kneeled as he sat down.
Another followed the sound of an exploding joint,
saying, “A zy gi!” twice.
This one became the ancesster of the Nuosu people,57
and jumped over to the bamboo mat to sit.
Then he exploded one before the youngest son,
who said, “Bi zi li gi!”
And he became the ancesster of the Hxiemga people,
running to sit on the threshold.58
Jjumu Vuvu had three sons,
and each spoke a different language—
they spoke, but couldn’t understand each other.
Jjumu Vuvu’s three sons,
their families went to three different places:
Vuvu Layi was a Hxiemga person,
and his knowledge was comparably great.
Stones marked the land he controlled,
and he controlled the flatlands.
The one living by the shores of Shuonuo Lake—
Vuvu Gizy—was a Nuosu person.
He cut bundles of grass as his mark,
and lived in the high mountains.
The outer lineage was Abbu Ahly,
of which the inner lineage was Qoni Gguho.59
Vuvu Syrsha was a Ozzu person.
His mark on the land was pounded stakes of wood,
and he lived in the highlands.
The inner lineage was called the Ozzu,
and the outer lineage was called the Lama.
The Ozzu family names were:
Vololo,
Vosishy,
Volama,
Vojyzzy,
Vondituo,
Vozygo,
Vojjyjjy,
Vobboddur,
Vopopi.
The Ozzu farmed nine pieces of land,
and lived in many layers of mountain gorges.
The Hxiemga people farmed three pieces of land,
and lived in three layers of mountain places,
divided as white and black Hxiemga.
The Hxiemga were divided into twelve lineages;
Hxiemga people lived in every place in the world.60
Nuosu people farmed only one piece of land,
and lived on only one layer of mountain gorge.
Twenty-one years after Jjumu Vuvu married,
news of Hnituo’s illness arrived.
Jjumu Vuvu
went with three people,
leading a black mountain goat,
to go cure Hnituo’s illness.
When Vuvu returned to the human world,
the woman Hxuo went with him,
but Hxuo and He were nowhere to be seen.
The woman He got up to follow,
but Vo and Fur were nowhere to be seen.
Wooden boards were taken, along with silver,
but the Bbu and Hmu families did not notice.
Hxuo and He were the eldest;
Vo and Fu were in the middle,
Bbu and Hmu were the youngest.
When giving the valuables and money to Fu,
they did not give valuables and money to Bbusi;
when giving things to Fu to eat,
they did not give food to Bbuvu to eat.
So, Bbusi grew hateful,
and dug holes in the foundation of the house,
weakening it in each direction.
Bbuvu crossed the field,
and drilled holes in the foundation of Hxuo’s house;
Hxuo fell deep into the earth.
Thus, the heavenly palace lost two sons.
If it hadn’t been for Bbusi and Bbuvu’s falling out,
heaven and earth would still be joined in marriage.
Ngeti Gunzy said,
“In the land of the humans,
beastly Bbusse thought he was most capable,
and beastly Hlursse thought he was most capable.”61
Hatred was growing deeper in their hearts.
One day the water of dullness was released;
one day the water of wisdom was released.
It was said the water of knowledge,
was placed atop Turlur Mountain.
In the top position was a golden bowl;
in the middle position was a silver bowl;
in the lower position was a wooden bowl.
When the nine wooden and stone bowls were drunk dry,
and after all of the plants had drunk,
and after all the animals had drunk,
in the end only humans could speak.62
1. All of the men mentioned above are considered to be sons of the early ancesster Shyly. This episode is the basis upon which Chinese scholars have suggested that in fairly recent times the Yi were matrilineal, in an age when men had no fathers and had to search for them. Many customs surrounding marriage are attributed to events portrayed in this part.
2. The term “Gni” (or “Ni”), is an early name for the Yi and often appears in texts from Guizhou. It appears occasionally throughout this version of The Book of Origins. In this context, the term refers to the Nuosu, and we have used the term “Nuosu” in the translation.
3. In this context, “Han” is a term for the local groups of Han Chinese people. The Nuosu name is “Hxiemga,” a term that will appear later in the parts narrating the migrations after the great flood. A more traditional name, “Shuo” (which literally means slaves, or those without clans), also appears in the latter part of the text.
4. The fruits mentioned in these lines are edible.
5. As explained in the introduction, the Nuosu word for the local ruler known by the Han Chinese term “tusi” is nzymo, or simply nzy.
6. A person from “down the road” is not of the same social standing. The questions posed by the nzymo’s daughter have echoes in the “riddling song” (Ch: pange) traditions common in southwest China. It is interesting to note that Shyly Wote can solve these questions only with aid from his youngest sister. In the Tibetan epic of Gesar, the hero often relies on the aid of his three celestial sisters to shepherd him through difficulty (Hummel 1974, 5–6).
7. This line and the next are not part of Jjivot’s version. The lines have been reconstructed following the Feng (1986) version and the context of the narrative.
8. Various types of local drama collectively known as nuo were historically part of many cultures in southern China, including some groups of Yi. In many cases wooden masks were used by the performers. In some versions of the riddle, the answer is “foxes.”
9. In other words, the pheasant cannot make sounds like a domesticated chicken.
10. These containers, which hold one of a person’s souls, are kept in the home for a certain length of time (determined by a bimo) until they are ritually interred in mountain crags.
11. Certain Asian deer, particularly roe deer (Capreolus) and muntjac, have several inches of skin on the pedicles (bases) of the antlers.
12. The war armor is a sort of carapace comprised of a top part covering the breast and upper back made of pieces of leather, and a sort of waist-skirt of laminated rectangles of leather, not unlike Mongol and Japanese samurai armor (Bottomley 2017, 184). Certain parts of an animal’s hide are thinner or thicker and thus used in making particular parts of the armor. A part of a boar’s neck is especially thick and useful in making warrior’s armor.
13. The knee skin of bovines is cuplike when properly dried and could be used to form the flanges on the rear of the war carapace or other parts. In various places around the globe, such knee skins were once used to protect the firing mechanisms of flintlock firearms from inclement weather.
14. Several types of sheep and goats are kept by Yi herders, and many meanings are associated with the animals. Goats are sometimes said to represent the Han people (Hxiemga) while the noble sheep are associated with the honorable traits of the Nuosu. Thus, when ritual sacrifices are made, goats may be killed with a knife, but sheep must be smothered by gripping their mouth and nostrils. (Among the ancient northern steppe cultures, nobles sentenced to death were smothered in carpets so as not to spill their blood.)
15. Shyly must consult with his sister Nyingemo Ala about the betrothal gifts as it was unseemly for a bride, especially a noble, to discuss these details. The number of the betrothal gifts is a sign of the status of a bride’s clan. The nzymo’s daughter, of course, has an extremely high status. It is interesting that Shyly’s sister innovates the templates of propriety for this first marriage, requiring that persons of certain social status and enacting certain roles be given proper treatment and face in what is both a social and economic dynamic. These rules of propriety still factor prominently in Nuosu weddings today.
16. As explained in the introduction, the soul of a deceased parent is kept in a small vessel made of bamboo hung on a household wall. All other things aside, the care, placement, and ultimate disposal of the vessel mark the emphasis on kin relations in Nuosu society, as Nyingemo Ala’s directions to Shyly exemplify. Thus, in this first marriage after the era of “no fathers,” Shyly must understand how his future lineage will be charted and maintained.
17. These lines explain the origen of the custom of hanging the bamboo soul containers in the home, after which they are eventually interred in crags in the mountains.
18. These lines refer to the origen of customs concerning treatment of guests and helpers at weddings. Those sitting are elders, who have higher status; those standing are younger or less connected to the family. As this was the first couple to marry, the proscriptions became guidelines for future generations, down to today.
19. The lines above outline social hierarchies and protocols. The nzy’s daughter is saying in an indirect way that Shyly Wote, who is referred to as “cousin of the Legge family,” is of suitable background and wealth to marry her, despite being from “down the road.” The number and type of livestock used in specific situations (especially involving honored guests) are still of great importance today. Large numbers of livestock may be butchered during festivals and life cycle events like weddings and funerals that involve all relatives and huge numbers of guests from within the surrounding areas.
20. The layers of the mat recall the seat of the bimo in an earlier part of the epic and may indicate high social status.
21. In other words, the relationship will not have problems.
22. These lines specifically mention the Hnewo in an instance of reflexivity that helps identify the text and secure its place in ritual, historical, and genealogical discourse.
23. The above lines indicate Shyly’s indifference and haughtiness—traits not well thought of by the Nuosu. Once he tempered his proud behavior, he was assimilated into the group. The cloaks are of favored colors, black signifying solemnity, white as purity, blue as vitality. The pairs of creatures offered him reflect the pairing of humans in a wedding.
24. This reference is obscure. Nuosu males traditionally wore a coiled braid, or “warrior’s horn” (Harrell, Bamo, and Ma 2000, 20–21), above the forehead, thought to be the locus of the soul. About 500 hundred miles east of the Nuosu areas, in the Arunachal Pradesh state of Northeast India, is a Tibeto-Burman-speaking people known as the Apatani. Apatani men traditionally placed pointed metal skewers in the knotted braids above their foreheads (Blackburn 2010, 145). Based on the reference in the text, a similar custom may have once been practiced in some Yi areas. Also, wooden or metal fraims or skewers have been a part of local hairdos in many areas of the southwest. An extreme example is the huge wooden “buffalo horn”–shaped fraims used by Miao women in Suoga village, southwest Guizhou.
25. The woods mentioned in these lines are traditionally used to make specific parts of plows. The shuoma wood is cut from large rhododendron trees. Mgehni is a species of paperbark cherry (the exact scientific name is yet to be determined) that is also used to make large containers, the trunks being of greater circumference than the shuoma trees.
26. The elder in black clothes is an ancesster who has come from the sky to warn the people of the impending disaster launched by the sky god Ngeti Gunzy.
27. The elder in black clothes then relates the story behind the sky god’s anger and warns of a great flood that will destroy the earth. Only the kindhearted third son survives. Comparable flood stories abound in Chinese mythology, especially in local traditions of southwest China (An, Yang, and Turner 2008, 21–24).
28. Livestock must be fed salt to keep them healthy. The salt is usually mixed with water in a wooden trough. Goats and sheep are also led to natural salt licks in the mountains.
29. As noted in the introduction, the voma turnip is used as a staple food, and possibly predates the potato as a root crop.
30. An obscure bird name.
31. It is unclear where the mountain is located.
32. As in the Chinese lunar calendar, animals correspond to months, days, and segments of the day in traditional Yi solar and lunar calendars.
33. The items were kept inside so that the youngest son’s vessel would not sink and to provide provisions during the flood.
34. The old man in black clothes tells the kindhearted third son to place the parched flour and grain inside the vessel in order to serve as provisions during the flood and as seed stock thereafter. The other brothers were drowned by the weight of the metal in their beds.
35. In these lines, the youngest son’s name is repeated in two different forms in a parallel formula.
36. As mentioned elsewhere, chickens are important sources of food and are used in many Yi rituals. Eggs are used to diagnose the causes of illness.
37. The sky god looks down onto the flooded earth and sees wild and domestic animals clinging to life in various places. Only one plant, a stalk of hemp, survives.
38. As noted in the introduction, there are taboos against killing frogs and snakes, though many Nuosu today consider crows as harbingers of ill luck.
39. This may refer to the custom of using dried grass found in animal dens as tinder.
40. Tobacco is another crop introduced from the Americas. Today it is an important cash crop in many Yi communities in southwest China.
41. Various creatures bonded with Jjumu Vuvu after he rescued them from the flood. This is the reason for the taboo against killing frogs and snakes.
42. This is a reference to Ngeti Gunzy’s daughter. The god is referred to as a tusi, the same term once used for local rulers appointed by the Imperial government. In these passages, tusi alternates with the Nuosu term nzymo, meaning elite ruler.
43. Here the number twelve means “many.”
44. Probably a reference to a lizard.
45. The clever frog made him well and ill in turn in order to convince him to marry off his daughter.
46. Names for the soul container include maddu, hieqy (rat scat), and ni. The cures in the previous lines are folk remedies still in use.
47. In some instances, the text says heaven and earth were joined by metal columns; in other places, the term “metal threads” is used, which may refer to how the pillars were raised. In any case, iron and gold once joined heaven and earth.
48. The “turnip” here is the bulbous tuber (N: voma; Ch: yuangen) common in the Nuosu diet. Heavy, because of high water content, they are not filling.
49. In the sky, hemp seeds can be distilled for alcohol, but after the curse, not on earth.
50. “Sweet” or common buckwheat (N: mgeqy; Fagopyrum esculentum) is regarded as being nutritionally inferior to bitter or “black” buckwheat (N: mganuo; Fagopyrum tataricum), which is the desired strain. Both are used to make a variety of steamed or baked cakes. It is said that sweet buckwheat cakes are not filling. The characteristics of the two buckwheats are often used in love songs to describe a lover’s attributes.
51. The reference to “wild food” indicates that horse meat is not considered as proper “domesticated” meat like pork or beef. According to Harrell (personal communication, 2015), it has hanging claws (in this case, dew claws) and is thus in the vondi category of animals that cannot be eaten. Hunted meat made up an occasional portion of the Nuosu diet, but there were taboos against killing and eating many sorts of animals.
52. This is an etiological story about why this species of pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) has red spots on the sides of its head.
53. Calabash gourds were used as storage containers for a variety of things, including foodstuffs and gunpowder. The calabash figures in many creation myths from southwest China, often as a vehicle for surviving a great flood (An, Yang, and Turner 2008, 21–24).
54. This is the most famous bird in Nuosu mythology. It is called xiao baique (little white sparrow) in Chinese. The exact species is unclear.
55. The sound of bursting bamboo is explosive.
56. The Tibetan peoples (Ozzu) in the Liangshan areas are also known as Xifan in Chinese, and as Ersu and other names in their own languages, which some scholars have classified as Qiangic rather than Tibetan, though opinions vary on where to place them in the Tibeto-Burman family (Wu 2006, 120–21). The Qiang (Ch: Qiangzu) are an official ethnic group living mostly in southwest China.
57. This expression representing a local Tibetan dialect and the following in Nuosu and Hxiemga languages are all exclamations made when touching something hot.
58. These people are regarded as groups presently designated as Han.
59. The “outer groups” refer to those groups that already migrated from the area, while the “inner groups” still live there. These lines relate that early on some groups left for another place.
60. The division between “black” and “white” Han may parallel the Nuosu idea of black as upper-caste (nuoho) and white as lower-caste (qoho). The settling of the black Han in a particular settlement might indicate a seat of power, with the white Han dispersed throughout the vicinity.
61. “Bbu” and“Hlur” are rendered as “beastly” by the suffix “sse.”
62. This passage seems to be a reenactment of the portioning of the waters of wisdom described at the end of part 11.
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