THE MIAO STORY OF CREATION
Who made heaven and earth?
Who made insects?
Who made men?
Made male and made female?
I who speak don't know.
Heavenly King made heaven and earth.
Zie ne made insects,
Zie ne made spiders,
Made male and made female.
How is it you don't know?
How made heaven and earth?
How made insects?
How made men and demons?
Made male and made female?
I who speak don't know.
Heavenly King is (or was) intelligent,
Spat a lot of spittle into his hand,
Clapped his hands with a noise.
Produced heaven and earth.
Tall wild grass made insects,
Stones made men and demons,
Made male and made female.
How is it you don't know?
Then follow many questions and answers, in all above one thousand lines, describing how the heavens were propped up and how the sun was made and fixed in its place.
Heavenly King is a translation of Vang vai, the two words they use as the name of the Creator, and it is very interesting to note how clearly and simply they say "Heavenly King made heaven and earth." This is so different from the elaborate and confused cosmogeny of the Chinese as to compel the opinion that we have here a very old tradition, and one they did not learn from the Chinese.
