19
NUOSU LINEAGES
Nuosu cy
Vuvu Gizy was a Nuosu [whose generation was]
followed by three Gizy sons,
followed by the generation of Gizy Shyma,
followed by the generation of Shyma Shysi,
who settled at Nzyolurnyie.
On Nzyolurnyie Mountain,
a white-colored tree grew,
putting forth white leaves,
flowers blooming everywhere,
as if birthed by a goddess.
The generation of the godly Puji
was followed by the generation of Puji Gaji,
followed by the generation of Gaji Gajie,
followed by the generation of Gajie Miho,
followed by the generation of Miho Qielur,
followed by the generation of Qielur Doji,
followed by the generation of Doji Doga,
followed by the generation of Doga Ddibo,
followed by the generation of Ddibo Vomu.
The four sons of Vomu
settled in four different places.
One son settled in Yosyyoli;
one son settled in Yysyvali;
one son settled in Yysypiniarra;
one son settled in Yomga Kehxa.
Nuosu people used grains
to pay the taxes to Emperor Ddibo Vomu.1
Emperor Ddibo Vomu
made an iron name seal
and let Lili Ngajie administer things,
overseeing the four directions and eight subdirections,
yet he was still unable to administer everything.
The Ozzu used gold
to pay taxes to Emperor Ddibo Vomu,
Emperor Ddibo Vomu,
made a golden name seal,
and let a lama of the Ozzu people administer things,2
overseeing the area outside the Yalong River,
but he was still unable to administer everything.
The Hxiemga people used silver
to pay taxes to Emperor Ddibo Vomu.
Emperor Ddibo Vomu
made a silver name seal,
passing Yiliyomga,
passing Hxazzynjieli,
passing the mountain settlement,
passing the mouth of the cliffs
to outside Azho settlement.
White and black rivers flowed together at this place.
White paired with white,3
the rooster decorated with silver ornaments came to wait;
[yellow paired with yellow,]
the hen wearing gold ornaments came to wait.
Cows and goats grazed freely,
cows and goats were tended here.
Emperor Ddibo Vomu,
made up forty-eight name seals,
giving them to forty-eight families for local administration.
The Ozzu took nine,
holding them until white-haired, dying of old age.
The Hxiemga nzymo
took thirty-nine,
and from that time on,
controlled all under the heavens.
This is the genealogy of Emperor Vomu.
1. Emperor Ddibo Vomu is an obscure reference. It may refer to an early local ruler, warlord, or possibly a tusi official, of which there were many in southwest China in ages past.
2. The mention of a lama (a Tibetan monk) indicates that the Nuosu, though not practitioners, had at least a peripheral awareness of some version of Tibetan Buddhism and its adherents.
3. These lines seem to indicate chickens being sacrificed at the confluence of these rivers. One line, “yellow paired with yellow,” seems to have been omitted. It is reconstructed here based on the structure of the passage. White (qu) and yellow (shy) can also mean the precious metals silver and gold.
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