A Crafty Hmong Man
|
||||||||
|
Scene 1 Let me tell you a story about Rangb, a Hmong man. Rangb was very crafty. One day he caught a rat, stuffed it into a tobacco box and took it to the market, carrying it around as if he had something important to sell. As he passed by some Han Chinese, one called out, “Hey old friend, what are you selling there?” “Nothing much,” replied Rangb, “just a silver rat.” “Well why don’t you take it out and give us a look?” they said. “I’m afraid if I do, that cat of yours will get it,” he said. “Don’t worry. If the cat gets it we’ll trade you for it.” So Rangb let the rat out of the box; the cat was on it in an instant. “See, what’d I tell you?” he said. “You’ll just have to take our cat then,” said the men. Scene 2
So Rangb put the cat in a small cage, set it in his basket, hoisted it on his shoulder and set off again. Again, a Han Chinese man saw the load on his back and called out, “What are you selling, old friend? Pig brain or pig liver?” “There’s nothing pig about it, I’ve got a wildcat.” “A wildcat? Let me have a look.” Rangb started to take out the cat, then hesitated. “Maybe not,” he said, “If I take it out, I’m afraid your dog will get it.” “Don’t worry,” said the man, “if the dog gets it you can just take the dog in return.” So Rangb took the cat out, and sure enough, as soon as it was free, the dog snatched it up. “See? Now look what your dog did to my wildcat.” “All right, just take the dog and be gone then.” So Rangb led the dog home. Scene 3 After a time, Rangb took the dog out and saw some merchants leading horses packed with goods such as coal and salt. “Hey there,” he called out. “Let me join you. I’ll use this big dog of mine to help pack stuff.” “Sure, come join us,” they said. So Rangb fell in with them and started using his dog as a pack animal. Again, Rangb thought of another scheme. One evening after a hard day’s work, Rangb voiced a concern. “That lead horse of yours is so big, I’m afraid it’s going to kill my dog.” “That horse, kill your dog? No way,” they said. “If it does, you can just take the horse instead.” “Okay, if that’s what you say,” said Rangb. Later that night, after everyone had fallen asleep, Rangb got up, grabbed a board, and killed the dog with a firm blow to the head. He covered its body with salt then went back to bed. The horses started gnawing on the dog’s body until its bones were completely clean. The next morning Rangb pretended to sleep in. As soon as the merchants saw what was left of the dog they ran over to Rangb. “Oh hurry, wake up. Something ate your dog last night.” Rangb pulled himself up and looked around. “I told you this would happen, but you didn’t listen to me. Now look what your horse has done.” The men agreed. “You’ll just have to take the lead horse,” they said. Holding back a smile, Rangb took the horse and led it home. Scene 4
“Listen to that song,” said the family. “He plays so well.” “Le le la la, the horse of one good man for the deceased bride of another good man.” After hearing the song, the Hmong family called him over. “So would you like to trade?” said Rangb. “Sure, sure, we’ll trade you,” agreed the family. “Then I’ll give you my fine horse for your daughter-in-law. Even though she’s dead, I’ll carry her back as my wife.” So Rangb left his horse with the family and carried the young woman home. Scene 5 When he got back he carried the woman to the top of a cliff, propped her up with some sticks, and smeared blue dye all over her body. When this was done, he ran back down to his village and told a girl named Bangx about it. Bangx was the prettiest girl of the village. Rangb wanted to marry her, but he was unable to win her love. He told her, “I’ve got a wife, I’ve got a wife.” “Where’s this wife of yours, Rangb?” she replied. Others crowded around and asked the same. “I told her to wait for me up the hill. You can all go and meet her. Let the prettiest among you go first.” Bangx, who was quite vain, said to herself, “I’m pretty; I might as well go up first.” “My wife is a bit hard of hearing,” said Rang. “When you meet her you must yell, ‘Boo!’, or she won’t turn around.” “Okay,” they said. “Is she far?” “No. She’s just over there at the cliff.” So they all went off, Bangx leading the way. When they found the woman they all yelled, “Boo!” and patted her on the back. To their surprise, Rangb’s wife went tumbling off the cliff. “Look what you’ve done,” cried Rangb. “You’ve killed her!” They all went down to the woman, and seeing the blue dye, thought that her body was covered with bruises. Rangb put up a big fuss. “Heavens, oh heavens! You’ve killed my wife, rolled her right off the mountainside, oh. What have you all done? Who then was in front? Whose fault was it? I will just have to take her to be my wife instead.” “It was Bangx,” said one. “Yes, Bangx,” said another. There was nothing Bangx could say, so she went with Rangb to be his wife. Scene 6
“I know,” said Rangb. “I’ll go up in the mountains today and chop down some trees.” “But if you go by yourself, who is going to help you bring the wood back?” “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,” said Rangb. So he set out with an ax in hand. After a full day’s work, Rangb finally had enough timber to make a house. When he was finished, he yelled from the top of the mountain, “Villagers, help! Rangb is trapped under a tree. Come quickly!” The villagers heard the cry for help and responded immediately. “Quickly,” they said to one another, “Rangb is in trouble.” They ran off as quickly as they could. When they arrived, Rangb was waiting for them. “We heard someone call, saying that you were trapped under a tree.” They said. “What?” Rang retorted. “Who would dare say such false words about me? Anyway, here’s a group of brothers standing around me. I’ve got this pile of logs I’ve been working on all day. Since you’re here, why don’t you help me take them back down?” So each of the men took a log, and not one remained when they were finished. Scene 7 Rangb went back down with them and built a house with what he had. The only thing remaining was to put a roof on it. Again, Rangb went up a mountain and cut a large pile of grass for a thatched roof. When he had enough he called back down the mountain: “Help! Rangb has fallen down a deep hole. I can’t get him out. Quickly, every man bring some rope to help pull him up. The hole is too deep for me to reach him.” Hearing the cry, each of the men grabbed a bit of rope and raced up the mountain to help. When they arrived, Rangb was standing there. “Someone called down, saying that you were trapped in a deep pit. What happened?” “What?” Said Rangb. “Why would someone say such things? I’ve been working here all day so I could collect enough grass to make a roof for my house. Hey brothers, you all brought some rope. Since you happen to be here, why don’t you all help me carry this grass back down?” So each of them made a bundle of grass with his rope and carried it down until nothing was left. Rangb went down and was able to finish his house with the grass that he had gathered. That is the story of how Rangb found a wife and established his home. [Note: The Hmong are a dialect group in the Miao people group. A common character in Miao/Hmong stories is Orphan. Orphan is considered to be the bottom of society because he has no family – no one to take care of him. It is common in these stories that Orphan finds fortune in life through some means or another, either innocently, or in this case, deceptively. Rangb seems to capture the typical essence of Orphan in such stories. Furthermore, among the highest cultural values is finding a wife and establishing a home, therefore these themes appear frequently in Miao stories. With this in mind, it can be said that the story of Rangb is about a man on the bottom rung of society, hard on his luck, that is able to gain the greatest blessings that Miao society desires.] |
RELATED LINKS:Map of story location Latest stories about the Zhuang Latest stories about the Qiang Latest stories about the Bouyei A book about Naxi culture A book of Zhuang folktales Zhuang embroidery |
|
