Land God Songs of Miao People
Source:Shaoyang International CultureWriter:Hou QiuyueTime:2014-04-14Clicks：次
My friends,have you ever watch the folk entertainment of “playing land gods”? The twisting dance postures, the laughable costumes,the simple but touching singing lines,which mingle mystery with humor, rejoice anyone who watches it.
From the third to the thirteenth of lunar January every year,every Miao family is awaiting the arrival of land gods with prepared rice cakes,sweet wine, cigarettes, flower tea, incense and underworld money.
Land gods are played by able singers and dancers of the local village or those invited from outside Miao villages. The performance is in fact very simple. In general,the god of land wears a mask of a kindly old man’s face with long beard,dresses up in a black robe with laces on the front and carries a walking stick with a carved dragon head on the top end.The goddess of land is slightly differently dressed.She ties a black kerchief on her head, wears a mask of a smiling woman’s face,is dressed in a neither short nor long black Chinese jacket with laces set on the front, and carries a small bamboo basket in her hand.One god and two gods in company travel singing from door to door of one village after another.Their songs cover a lot of subjects.At one time they sing about what they see on the way, and at another time,after one sings some lines the others respond. Of course, their songs generally arranged in a certain order.
When they are about to enter a village,they will sing the song of “starting the divinity”:
When the first of January approaches,
Every family celebrates the New Year.
Every household lets off firecrackers.
Omniscience Laojun sends me down
To do no other things than
Appreciate incense from door to door.
When they arrive at a house,they will sing the song of “Obtaining Wealth”:
Our trip is so haste that
We reach your gate unconsciously.
Watching the front of the house,
We see a red antithetical couplet.
The house is decorated with colored glaze tiles
And windows carved with flowers.
Both inside and outside people are happily busy.
We the gods of land enjoy the happy scene,
Hoping to open for the host the door to wealth.
At this moment the host immediately comes to the gate and lights firecrackers to welcome the gods.The gods enter the house while singing:
The host opens his gate wide,
Which betokens a number one scholar will spring out
Into the dragon gates of Nanjing and Beijing.
The number one scholar enters the house,
With golden roosters and phoenixes singing.
And then the host get gold and silver day and night.
After the song,the land gods give congratulations to the host and sing the song of “Happy New Year”.
Congratulations to the host
For your broad road of wealth
And for your evergreen life as well.
We gods of land have come here,
With full happiness for you.
This time the gods and the host exchange greetings.The host treat them to tea and cigarettes and then invite them to a rich meal.
Under general conditions, the “land gods”will not drink tea or wine or have dinner at every household.But no matter whether they do or do not,they certainly will thank the host by singing the song of “Thanks For Tea” Or “Thanks For Wine”:
Thanks for your invitation to tea.
Orchids come out in January,
So we present you orchids as our thanks.
Orchid fragrance and laurel fruits(meaning scholars) come out of your family.
Again thanks for your invitation to tea.
Various blossoms come out in February.
We present you blossoms as our thanks,
To bring longevity to your family.
In your tea there are blossoms,
Which will never wither.
With blossoms as our thanks,
Evergreen life accompanies your family.
With the end of the song,the host will present “the land gods”tributes like incense. Usually the “gods”accept them while expressing thanks.They sing as they go out. The host send them out with firecrackers.They should not reject because any rejection means that they look down upon the host and will not bless him for his health and wealth.
However, sometimes,some smart hosts will often bring trouble to the “land gods”. They will place some obstacles like stools, millstones,and basins in the “land gods” way.In this situation,
the land gods must be clever enough to sing some mysterious but reasonable songs to have the obstacles gotten rid of by the trouble maker himself.Or else, the “land gods”will be kept out of the door and made fool of.Even the “gods”have passed through they will be examined about the origin of land gods.Then the actors of land gods speak smoothly about it by singing the following:
My host, please listen to me.
How can you offend me by mentioning that?
The mortal and immortal should both have self-esteem.
We are sent by Omniscience Laojun
To the Earth to accept incense.
Ask Laojun if you do not believe.
We will not argue with you.
We have sweet wine and rice cakes of our own.
Accepting incense is not our only mission.
We bring Heavenly Instructs to the world as well.
Among all instructing songs, the song of “Advice of Being Gentle” is deepest rooted in people’s hearts.
Gentle Heaven brings forth mild rain and wind,
Gentle Earth gives birth to various creatures,
Gentle roads lead to safe traffic,
Gentle river water let boats sail well,
Gentle father and son avoid the family falling,
Gentle husband and wife result in a rising family,
Gentle relatives share mutual visits,
And gentle friends enjoy ever-lasting friendship.
Playing land gods has a long history.In old times,people acted as land gods for the purpose of receiving gifts in the form of food and money with which to support their families.It was a decent way of begging.Now it is a mere entertainment. There lies folk literal essence in land god songs. It is a pity that the songs have not been picked and refined. But it is certain that with the opening and development of Suining County this unique literal form will display its brilliant charm.
(translated by Yi Daoqun)
From the third to the thirteenth of lunar January every year,every Miao family is awaiting the arrival of land gods with prepared rice cakes,sweet wine, cigarettes, flower tea, incense and underworld money.
Land gods are played by able singers and dancers of the local village or those invited from outside Miao villages. The performance is in fact very simple. In general,the god of land wears a mask of a kindly old man’s face with long beard,dresses up in a black robe with laces on the front and carries a walking stick with a carved dragon head on the top end.The goddess of land is slightly differently dressed.She ties a black kerchief on her head, wears a mask of a smiling woman’s face,is dressed in a neither short nor long black Chinese jacket with laces set on the front, and carries a small bamboo basket in her hand.One god and two gods in company travel singing from door to door of one village after another.Their songs cover a lot of subjects.At one time they sing about what they see on the way, and at another time,after one sings some lines the others respond. Of course, their songs generally arranged in a certain order.
When they are about to enter a village,they will sing the song of “starting the divinity”:
When the first of January approaches,
Every family celebrates the New Year.
Every household lets off firecrackers.
Omniscience Laojun sends me down
To do no other things than
Appreciate incense from door to door.
When they arrive at a house,they will sing the song of “Obtaining Wealth”:
Our trip is so haste that
We reach your gate unconsciously.
Watching the front of the house,
We see a red antithetical couplet.
The house is decorated with colored glaze tiles
And windows carved with flowers.
Both inside and outside people are happily busy.
We the gods of land enjoy the happy scene,
Hoping to open for the host the door to wealth.
At this moment the host immediately comes to the gate and lights firecrackers to welcome the gods.The gods enter the house while singing:
The host opens his gate wide,
Which betokens a number one scholar will spring out
Into the dragon gates of Nanjing and Beijing.
The number one scholar enters the house,
With golden roosters and phoenixes singing.
And then the host get gold and silver day and night.
After the song,the land gods give congratulations to the host and sing the song of “Happy New Year”.
Congratulations to the host
For your broad road of wealth
And for your evergreen life as well.
We gods of land have come here,
With full happiness for you.
This time the gods and the host exchange greetings.The host treat them to tea and cigarettes and then invite them to a rich meal.
Under general conditions, the “land gods”will not drink tea or wine or have dinner at every household.But no matter whether they do or do not,they certainly will thank the host by singing the song of “Thanks For Tea” Or “Thanks For Wine”:
Thanks for your invitation to tea.
Orchids come out in January,
So we present you orchids as our thanks.
Orchid fragrance and laurel fruits(meaning scholars) come out of your family.
Again thanks for your invitation to tea.
Various blossoms come out in February.
We present you blossoms as our thanks,
To bring longevity to your family.
In your tea there are blossoms,
Which will never wither.
With blossoms as our thanks,
Evergreen life accompanies your family.
With the end of the song,the host will present “the land gods”tributes like incense. Usually the “gods”accept them while expressing thanks.They sing as they go out. The host send them out with firecrackers.They should not reject because any rejection means that they look down upon the host and will not bless him for his health and wealth.
However, sometimes,some smart hosts will often bring trouble to the “land gods”. They will place some obstacles like stools, millstones,and basins in the “land gods” way.In this situation,
the land gods must be clever enough to sing some mysterious but reasonable songs to have the obstacles gotten rid of by the trouble maker himself.Or else, the “land gods”will be kept out of the door and made fool of.Even the “gods”have passed through they will be examined about the origin of land gods.Then the actors of land gods speak smoothly about it by singing the following:
My host, please listen to me.
How can you offend me by mentioning that?
The mortal and immortal should both have self-esteem.
We are sent by Omniscience Laojun
To the Earth to accept incense.
Ask Laojun if you do not believe.
We will not argue with you.
We have sweet wine and rice cakes of our own.
Accepting incense is not our only mission.
We bring Heavenly Instructs to the world as well.
Among all instructing songs, the song of “Advice of Being Gentle” is deepest rooted in people’s hearts.
Gentle Heaven brings forth mild rain and wind,
Gentle Earth gives birth to various creatures,
Gentle roads lead to safe traffic,
Gentle river water let boats sail well,
Gentle father and son avoid the family falling,
Gentle husband and wife result in a rising family,
Gentle relatives share mutual visits,
And gentle friends enjoy ever-lasting friendship.
Playing land gods has a long history.In old times,people acted as land gods for the purpose of receiving gifts in the form of food and money with which to support their families.It was a decent way of begging.Now it is a mere entertainment. There lies folk literal essence in land god songs. It is a pity that the songs have not been picked and refined. But it is certain that with the opening and development of Suining County this unique literal form will display its brilliant charm.
(translated by Yi Daoqun)