Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review Volumes 32 and 33.djvu/716

 4o6 The Cult of the Door amongst t/ic Miao

The Cult of the Door amongst the Miao in South-West China.

In Yunnan and Kueicheo, S.W. China, amongst Miao who have not been affected by foreign influences, no religious ceremony is of more importance than the worship of the door. The door is sacred, and a proper respect for it is indispensable to success and happiness throughout life. Miao huts are oblong. The door is placed at either one of the ends. On no account is a doorway opened in either of the sides. The fact that the door was invariably rudely fashioned made no difference to its extraordinary sanctity. Everything in life was contingent upon the door, which was carefully opened and closed, and with which children were not allowed to play. They were not even per- mitted to touch the door to which an offering had been made. The door was never banged.

It is commonly believed that if anything is chopped on the threshold of a house, children born in that house will be hare- lipped.

There was no definitely fixed date for the worshipping of the door. Rarely was it sacrificed to more than once in three years, and frequently much longer periods than this intervened. The time selected was commonly that following on the in- gathering of the harvest. If there was illness the ceremony would be observed, and, when the head of the household Waxed old the solemn rite was performed in order to initiate the eldest son into the sacred cult. If he were not naturally bright and intelligent the father would instruct his second son. A sorcerer determined a propitious date, but he was never allowed to be present at the ceremony. The head of the household acted as priest. When a day had been fixed upon the sacrificer went to the hills, where he cut a few bamboos with which he fashioned a small bamboo door. I should point out here that the door to which offerings w-ere made was not the main door of the house. It was this small door especially fashioned for the occasion. This was attached with bamboo strips to the larger door. Formerly the larger door was also made of bamboo, but during later years it has been made of wood.