26
CHANGES IN HXUO VILLAGES
Hxuoqo hxeqo
The three sons of Puho
led a pack of spirit and fairy dogs,
deep into the valley Mahni to hunt.
There were three groups of Syxiesixie men.
In that first group,
was it not Jjimixie?
It was not Jjimixie.
In the next group,
was it not Aggexie?
It was not Aggexie.
In that last group,
was it not Atuxie?
It was indeed Atuxie.
At the place Zzyzzypuvu,
the spirit troops and generals flew out like bees.
The three sons of Puho,
smashed the ten thousand troops,
pushing back the spirit troops and generals.
When driving them to Galolipi,
thousands were killed,
hundreds were captured;
three hundred steeds and a dragon-steed saddle brought back.
[The father] Puho Anzi sacrificed beasts
so that his elder son Atu would become Gguho,
that the second son Agge would become Qoni.1
The two families, Hxuo and He,
fought over things they shouldn’t.
They fought over Puho Anzi’s funeral expenses,
resulting in bad feelings.
They fought over their lands, making more bad feelings.
They fought over their slaves, making more bad feelings.
They also fought over sows and seedlings.
They also fought over hens and spring water.
They fought over who had less and who had more.
They fought over who lacked skill and who was able.
They fought over the emperor’s silver bowl.
They fought over the official’s golden seal.
They were instigated by meddlers;
they were instigated by loose tongues.
The two families, Hxuo and He:
The Hxuo felt there was no way to outdo the He;
the He felt there was no way to outdo the Hxuo.
So, the day before, they transformed.
Hxuo transformed, and He did not see it;
He transformed, and Hxuo did not see it.
So, the day after, they transformed.
Hxuo transformed, but He did not know it;
He transformed, but Hxuo did not know it.
Hxuo retreated from down the upper road;
He retreated from down the lower road.
The slaves stood in ranks.2
The two families, Hxuo and He,
competed in shape-shifting.
When Hxuo changed into a white sheep,
He changed into an evil wolf.
Wherever the cows and sheep ran to hide,
the evil wolf chased after to bite them.
The first day He was victorious.
When Hxuo changed into paddy grass,
He changed into a plow ox.
When the ox came to chew on the grass blades,
the grass flipped down to cover the ox’s head.
The second day Hxuo was victorious.
When Hxuo changed into the shape of a chicken,
He changed into the shape of an eagle.
Wherever the chicken ran to hide,
the eagle chased after to peck it.
The second day He was victorious.
When Hxuo changed into a red tree leaf,
He changed into an iron ball.
When the iron ball rolled to the bottom of the water,
the tree leaf floated atop the water.
The second day Hxuo was victorious.
When Hxuo changed into a sow,
He transformed into a dhole
Wherever the sow hid,
the dhole chased after to bite it.
The third day He was victorious.
When Hxuo transformed into a maiden,
He transformed into a bracelet.
The maiden took it and wore it.
The third day Hxuo was victorious.
Hxuo changed into the shape of a man,
He transformed into the shape of a bear.
The bear wanted to come and harm the man,
but the man carried a crossbow.
So, the two families came to a draw.
As for the two families Hxuo and He,
an arbitrator came and
said not to kill Hxuo,
said not to shoot He,
“It is not proper to kill those one knows.
So, stop a while and gain some understanding.”
On the first day,
they sat on Turlur Mountain to palaver.
Ndajji Syhli came as a go-between to speak.
he came riding the black horse Shyqu.
One day later,
they came to palaver at a brook on Turlur Mountain.
Sysse Avu was the go-between.
He came riding a red-mouthed magic horse.
Sysse Avu,
grazed his horse below the fields,
putting his saddle in the field above the wall.
A spotted-face white tiger came
and bit the magic horse to death.
The magic horse was killed by the tiger,
and this interrupted the palaver.
Everyone then ran in pursuit,
and killed the spotted-face white tiger.
Sysse Avu came along and
from his club spread four drops of white tiger blood,
and offered wine in four directions.
One drop of wine was put on the sun’s head,
then the sun hid its head in the clouds.
One drop of wine was put on the clouds,
then the clouds scattered in four directions.
Thereafter, the cloudy mists were unwilling to go past the peaks,
and rain was unwilling to fall down to earth.
The two families of Hxuo and He
were again willing to come together in marriage;
in the morning they ate the “placating dispute cow.”3
Fierce winds, hard rains, heaven and earth were black.
At noon they ate the “cow of understanding,”
autumn rains fell lightly, the sky was misty.
In the afternoon they ate the “gathering kin cow.”
In the four directions the clouds were red.
The cow gallbladders were taken out,
wine was offered in the four directions,
and three red snows fell.
Four cow skins were laid out,
hung in the four directions, and eight subdirections.
Afterward the clouds and mists were willing to come out;
rain was willing to fall to earth.
As for the two families, Hxuo and He:
Hxuo solved the disputes;
it was Hxuobi Ajjie who came to mediate.
He solved their disputes.
It was Hebi Niemge who came [from the He] to mediate,
to further the communication.
Ssohxo Shydo came as a head,
acting as a go-between.
Nieyy Munji came as a head,
to resolve things among kin.
Ndiqu Suoshy also came as a head.
Three families who did not get a share of the gallbladder
were called to participate in the discussions:
The foals in the stables had gotten no gallbladder;
the pheasants in the ferns had gotten no gallbladder;
the fawns in the deep forests had gotten no gallbladder.
Three families without hair
were called to participate in the discussions:
The fish in the waters have no hair;
the snakes below the field walls have no hair;
the frogs below the field walls have no hair.
The three families that do not grow white
were called to participate in the discussions:4
The black sows aren’t white;
the bear cubs in the forest aren’t white;
the crows in the mountains aren’t white.
The three families that aren’t black
were called to participate in the discussions:
The white snows in the high mountains aren’t black;
the great geese in the sky aren’t black;
the mgobu birds in the deep forests aren’t black.
When all was spoken, the decisions were not overturned.
As for the two families of Hxuo and He:
Hxuo drove tens of thousands of horses
to wed the He maiden Shyha,
who married Hxuobi Ajjie.
The bridal gifts were worth thousands of gold pieces.
The Hxuo descendants were in the tens of thousands,
and Hxuo was divided into nine clan groups, spreading out.5
He also drove thousands of cows and horses
to wed the Hxuo maiden Qulu,
who married Hebi Niemge.
The bridal gifts were worth thousands of gold pieces.
the He descendants were in the tens of thousands,
and the He were divided into nine clan groups and spread out.
The Gguho spread to the right,
The Qoni spread to the left.6