Page:Chinese Life in the Tibetan Foothills.djvu/52

40 The five dragons and five planets have an intimate association with the five cardinal tenets of the secret societies.

Another tablet of a more general nature is set up, 土府九壘高皇大帝 tʽu fu chiu lei kao huang ta ti. This is for worshipping the god of springs and placating the five dragons. Tʽu fu seems to include the whole family of Earth, while chiu lei is said to refer to the nine continents.

There is also a somewhat similar ceremony of worshipping the gods of Wind, Clouds, Thunder, Rain, Sun, Moon and Stars; the tablets being Fêng po 風伯 (fêng, wind); this was a statesman of the T'ang dynasty named Kʽuei Chêng 魏徵. He is said to have killed the five-horned dragon. Yü Shih 雨師 (yü, rain), a statesman of the Yin dynasty, by name Fu Yüeh 傅説. LeLei [sic] tsu 雷詛 (lei, thunder) is said to have been Wên tʽai shih 文太師. And lastly Yün lung 雲龍, the cloud dragon. The sun is the emperor, the moon the empress, the planets the statesmen, the larger stars the provincial officials and the smaller stars, the people. There is also thanksgiving to the Fire-star, 謝火星君 hsieh huo hsing chün, both a parochial and a domestic affair. We here speak only of the domestic side, the other being dealt with under the Feast of All Souls. When there has been anything approaching to a conflagration in the house, or anything to indicate that the fire-demon is in the ascendant, a few pieces of red-hot coal are taken from the kitchen fire, put into a jar, and extinguished with water, while the priest chants the incantations necessary to drive the demon from the house.

Those who live by rivers and marshes worship or thank the Water-star 謝水星 hsieh shui hsing, hoping to be thus saved from flood. In this ritual the dragon of the five cardinal points is the chief object of worship. A jug of water is brought from the river, and the priest chants his incantations over it. After the ceremony both jug and water are taken outside and thrown away.