23
GENEALOGY OF NZY CLAN
Nzyzzur pu
The Wuwu Gizy,
when they came to Sagukenyie,
they looked at the place Aqybilu.
At Aqybilu,
black cows plowed the earth,
spoons with broken handles were used to eat.
It was not a suitable place to settle down;
the Nzy were not willing to migrate there to live.
They stood at Aqybilu,
and looked at the place Nieyylurjjo.
At Nieyylurjjo
one’s skin burned in the day,
and long clothes were needed at night.
The Ni came there and ran off;
The Shuo came there and ran off.1
It was not a suitable place to settle down;
the Nzy were not willing to migrate there to live.
They stood at the place Nieyylurjjo,
and looked at the place Leggeorro.
At Leggeorro
Ni people spoke Hxiemga speech when born,
Shuo people grew Nuosu braids when born;
water buffalo and yellow cows plowed side by side,
plowed in one direction,
and split up when finished plowing.
Ni and Shuo customs were mixed,
going outside together,
but returning home to two places.
Shuo people grew long braids,
Shuo women wore long pants.
It was not a suitable place to settle down;
the Nzy were not willing to migrate there to live.
They stood at the place Leggeorro,
and looked at the place Mutedoli.
At Mutedoli,
the trees and shrubs were very few,
but wild grass grew everywhere;
the children and grandchildren looked very poor.
It was not a suitable place to settle down;
the Nzy were not willing to migrate there to live.
From Mutedoli,
they looked at the place Pushurgatuo.
At the place Pushurgatuo,
the Nzy’s living space was very narrow,
and the commoners’ space was very wide;
the grass growing there was changpu grass.2
It was not a suitable place to settle down;
the Nzy were not willing to migrate there to live.
From the place Pushurgatuo,
they looked at the place Salandipo.
At the place Salandipo,
the sky above was wide,
the earth below was vast;
the fir trees wore silver garments,
from the cypress trees dangled little bells;3
the earth clods wore head ornaments.
Work was endless with no result;
the water was good only for washing horse hoofs;
this was not water the Nzy would drink;
the Nzy were not willing to migrate there to live.
From the place Salandipo,
they looked at the place Syrkieladda.
At Syrkieladda,
a son was killed while washing in the river;
this was not water the Nzy would drink;
the Nzy were not willing to migrate there to live.
From the place Syrkieladda,
they looked at the place Joturmuggu.
At Joturmuggu,
the Ni winds of the south gusted,
the Shuo winds of the north gusted.
It was a place where ghosts gathered,
carrying cut-off heads in hand.
It was not a suitable place to settle down;
the Nzy were not willing to migrate there to live.
From the place Jotturmuggu,
they looked at the place Hxuoggurjuojjo.
At Hxuoggurjuojjo,
a lone pine stood in the sun,
icy snow grew in the shadows.
Gaunt horses competed for fancy saddles;
the owners rode on horseback,
the slaves also rode on horseback.
The relations between people were not clear.
It was not a suitable place to settle down;
the Nzy were not willing to migrate there to live.
From the place Hxuoggurjuojjo,
they looked at the place Limuzhuhxi.
At Limuzhuhxi,
guests came and went.
There were enough wooden bowls,
but wooden spoons were too few;
one could eat warm food,
but could not drink warm soup.
It was not a suitable place to settle down;
the Nzy were not willing to migrate there to live.
From the place Limuzhuhxi,
they looked at the place Njiyishuonuo.
At Njiyishuonuo,
long and poisonous grass was everywhere.
If Ni people touched it, the Ni were poisoned;
if Hxiemga touched it, then Hxiemga were poisoned:
people could thus be poisoned and die.
This was not a suitable place to settle down;
the Nzy were not willing to migrate there to live.
From the place Njiyishuonuo,
they looked at the place Rawalomo.
At Rawalomo,
sheep could be herded above,
bulls could fight below,
grains could be planted in the middle.
In later times, the trend was that
poor, cold Black Nuosu lived in this place;
and here the Black Nuosu rose in prestige.
The Nzy wanted to live there,
but the prestige of the Nzy would be lowered.
It was not a suitable place to settle down;
the Nzy were not willing to migrate there to live.
From the place Rawalomo,
they looked at the place Tejjoladda.
At Tejjoladda,
the pines grew tall,
the land was wild and cold;
To get a wife one had to trade grain.
It was not a suitable place to settle down;
the Nzy were not willing to migrate there to live.
From the place Tejjoladda,
they looked at the place Nyungelolo.
At Nyungelolo,
there were rocks, but too many pines,
so millstones couldn’t be made;
all the trees were horse mulberry,
so it was hard to make plows.4
It was not a suitable place to settle;
the Nzy were not willing to migrate there to live.
From the place Nyungelolo,
they looked at the place Animahxo.
At Animahxo,
the trees there were all sumacs,
so there were no sacred branches for soul-calling rites.5
It was not a suitable place to settle;
the Nzy were not willing to migrate there to live.
From the place Animahxo,
they looked at the place Yyshytebbu.
At Yyshytebbu,
frogs roared like tigers,
cicadas squealed like pigs.
It was not a suitable place to settle down;
the Nzy were not willing to migrate there to live.
From the place Yyshytebbu,
they looked at the place Yyshybbaka.
At Yyshybbaka,
the three sons of Puho were born.
The three Puho sons fought about things they shouldn’t:
They fought about the amount of clothes between them,
they fought about the amount of land between them.
The eldest son, Atu, felt responsible for his mother,
and thought his mother should be with him;
the middle son, Agge, had no stake in the matter,
but thought the mother should be with him;
the youngest son, Jjimi, said that
since the youngest son hangs the spirit containers in his home,
the mother should be with him.6
So, they cut their mother into pieces,
first smashing her to death with a whetstone,
then chopping her up on a stone slab.
The head was placed in the upper position,
the waist was placed in the middle,
and feet were placed in the lower position.
The head became the property of the eldest son, Atu,
who stood at the place Gguchepuli;
the waist was taken by Agge,
who stood at the place Huomugatuo;
the feet were taken by Jjimi,
who stood at the place Huomujjiejjy.
The youngest son, Jjimi,
wanted to conduct a ceremony to worship the ancestors,
so he invited some bimo to come:
Tebi Nramu was invited,
Hxibi Shyzu was invited,
Addi Bisse was invited.
Bringing their sacred accoutrements,
carrying their ritual scrolls,
the bimo arrived at the host’s home,
the quho bimo sat in the position below,
the nuoho bimo sat in the position above,
and in the marshy middle place sat their apprentices.7
Tebi Nramu spoke forcefully,
“Use the shoulder blade of a water deer of the fir forests as an offering,
use the image of an eagle of the heavens as an offering,
use the image of the mouse-like creatures as an offering;
use gold and silver branches for a sacred staff,
catch a muntjac as a ritual offering,
capture a water deer as a blood sacrifice,
pull up a small pine to waft up the spirit.”8
Hxibi Shyzu then said,
“At home divine with the shoulder blade of a sheep,
make offerings to pictures of chickens under the eaves,
use fir and cypress to make sacred branches,
catch a piglet as an offering,
capture a small bird as a blood sacrifice,
use a jji trees as objects of worship,
pull up bamboo roots to make soul vessels;
if not done in this way,
the son’s generation may be able to do it right,
but the grandson’s generation may not be able.”
Hxibi Shyzu got up,
and after conducting some rites for the soul,
the soul vessel was henceforth hung in the home.
The third son of the Puho sons,
stood in the place Yyshybbaka,
looking at the Imuhxomu flatlands.
At the Imuhxomu flatlands,
the bamboos were hung with bells,
the grass blades were thick as door bolts;
axes were used to clear the snow,
water was carried in salt mortars.9
It was not a suitable place for the Nzy to settle;
they were unwilling to migrate there to live.
When arriving at Huogguryynuo,
the earth grew long, wild grass,
and the children all looked terribly poor,
so they were unwilling to migrate there to live.
From the place Huogguryynuo,
they looked at the place Sagukenyie.
At Sagukenyie,
the common folk lived in the upper part of the village,
the Nzy lived in the lower part of the village;
when the Nzy spoke, the locals did not understand,
so they were unwilling to migrate there to live.
When arriving at Tienbiemuwa,
they found that at Tienbiemuwa,
most people rented plots to farm.
Water buffalos raised their horns as they plowed,
and the Nieyy River was to the rear.
They were unwilling to migrate there to live.
When arriving at the place Nyiepuvocho,
they found that at the place Nyiepuvocho,
slaves rode horses,
snakes and dogs fought,
so they were unwilling to migrate there to live.
When arriving at Huoggurssikuo,
they looked at the place Viwangaha,
and found that at Viwangaha,
the bimo all gathered
at the nzy Ahoa’s home.
A hundred chickens and dogs were killed,
killed to give the lower part of the village;
A black dog was killed,
killed to give the upper part of the village.
thereafter the slaves could never raise their heads,
and they were unwilling to migrate there to live.
When arriving at Ssuwalurqo,
the winds were very fierce,
and arriving at Mucheolo,
heaven and earth were dark,
and wolves snapped at the horse riders.
In the future,
snakes would swallow snakes here,
pigs and chickens would lead sheep,
weird snakes would bite tigers,
and the tigers would hide behind pigs;
the tigers wouldn’t bite the pigs,
but the pigs would harm the tigers,
and the tigers would run into the forests.
There was but one lucky day a year;
so they were unwilling to migrate there to live.
When they were considering Vowahxuoggur,
there at Vowahxuoggur,
a white yak was led as an offering,
and the gallbladder was divided into four parts:
One part was offered to the misty clouds,
so mists would waft through the blue sky;
one part was offered to the rains,
so the rains would fall to earth;
one part was offered to the sun,
so the would sun rise to whiten everything;
one part was offered to the moon,
so the moon would rise and shine brightly;
so they were unwilling to migrate and live there.
When standing at Vowahxuoggur,
they looked at the place Munyiegulu.
At Munyiegulu,
there were four sorts of magic helmets and armor,
and the steel swords and armor glimmered;
they were unwilling to migrate there to live.
Standing at the place Munyiegulu,
they looked at Munyiebati.
At Munyiebati,
dogs were born with four eyes,
wild deer captured tigers to eat,
muntjac came to catch pigs.
It was not a suitable place for the Nzy to settle down;
they were unwilling to migrate and live there.
Standing at Munyiebati,
they looked at Nieyypushu.
From Nieyypushu they migrated on;
at Zzyzzylajjie they settled there;
from Zzyzzylajjie they migrated on.
When migrating to Zzyzzypuvu,
the horse halter armor broke;
the metal tips of their canes wore smooth.
At the place Zzyzzypuvu,
above the dwellings were mountains for raising goats,
below the dwellings were paddies for raising grain,
and in the middle were dwelling places;
there were also grasslands for racing horses,
and there were wet spots for raising pigs.
There were places for maidens to find shade under the eaves.
So, the children and grandchildren of the Nzy
were willing to migrate to Zzyzzypuvu to live.
At the place Zzyzzypuvu,
above the dwellings they cut pine kindling and gathered resin;10
below the dwellings they took in fish fry.
One day while doing fieldwork and herding,
they drove a magic sheep,
and released it on Zzyzzy Mountain;
drove a magic goat,
and released it on Zzyzzy Mountain;
drove a flock of magic chickens,
and released them on the Zzyzzy bottomlands;
drove a herd of magic horses,
and released them on the Zzyzzy grasslands;
drove a magic hunting dog,
and took it to Zzyzzy Mountain Gorge to hunt;
drove a herd of magic cows,
and released them on the flat Zzyzzy fields.
At the place Zzyzzypuvu,
when the colts were just a year old,
they had already broken nine belly bands;
when the calves were just one year old,
they had already worn out nine plow frames;
when the goats were just a year old,
their rendered oil already gave nine double-handfuls.11
Seven generations of swords glimmered,
eight generations of steeds were ridden,
nine generations of ndeggu spoke their wisdom,
the foundations of the ancestors’ homes were laid,
the children and grandchildren’s industries were founded.
The Nzy divided into the three sons of Sywo,
the Nuo division divided into Gguho and Qoni;
the Jji divison divided into the three sons of Amo.
Of the three sons of Puho,
the eldest was Atu,
the middle son was Agge,
Atu was a Gguho,
Agge was a Qoni.12
The Gguho went to the left,
the Qoni went to the right.
The Gguho gathered together,
and settled at the place the sun comes up.
The Qoni gathered together,
and settled at the place the sun sets.