last rice cake eaten, the ceremony began. Li-Xia had been given an elixir that left her unable to move but conscious of the proceedings carried out around her. With much rattling of the official sword and banging of drums, she was laid upon a hastily erected altar, mystic symbols smeared upon her naked body with the warm blood of a freshly killed cockerel.
Strings of jumping crackers were set off to warn away hungry ghostseager to pounce upon the crumbs of the living. Incense sticks were burned, together with talismanic inscriptions daubed upon red paper. After many noisy moments of mystic incantation and a great rattling of ritualistic weaponry, the ashes of the talismans were mixed with a cup of pure spring water.
With the cup in his left hand and the all-powerful sword in his right, the exorcist prayed for power: “Gods of heaven and earth, invest me with the healing seal that I may purge this being of all evil that possesses her.” He picked up a switch of willow and dipped it into the cup, sprinkling first east, then west, north, and south. To reinforce the spell, he filled his mouth with the magic water and sprayed it over Li-Xia’s motionless body. Having banished all malignant spirits properly and eternally to the cellars of the Master of Heaven’s palace in far-off Kianghsi, the exorcism was officially and successfully completed.
The divine being then turned his attention to the burial of the great Goo-Mah, accompanying the ravaged coffin to the family burial spot beneath the great pine. This done, the group of professional mourners set up a wailing that could be heard for a mile across the fields, succeeding in rousing the dogs to add their howls of sorrow to this cacophony of lament. This was kept up to the accompaniment of gongs and firecrackers, drums and trumpets, until the divine being accepted his red packet from a tearful Yik-Munn. Then, with a final spray of magic water in the direction of Goo-Mah’s grave, he sheathed his demon-dispelling sword. Li-Xia was lifted from the altar, washed clean of chicken blood and ashes, and returned to the rice shed, where she fell into the deepest of sleeps.
Having performed his duty commensurate with Yik-Munn’s donation to the temple, the exorcist led the procession on its noisy way back to the village. Yik-Munn did not make it known that in the interests of prudence, he had persuaded the temple to carry out both rituals for the price of one.
A week later, the fox fairy disappeared for two days and was found even farther from the house. She had crossed the sea of silver millet and themustard field, leaped the irrigation ditch, and followed the river until her feet were sore and bleeding, but she felt no pain and would have walked for a thousand miles if they had not caught her. This time her brothers did not beat her and their curses were mild. Though they did not say so, they were wary of powers that even the exorcist seemed unable to appease, and could not deny the courage and determination of one so young. She was allowed to walk back unrestrained, and treated with caution on her return.
So troubled was Yik-Munn by the failure of the costly ceremony and the child’s continued defiance, he decided her re sis tance must be sanctioned by powers from above and must be respected more than punished.
Only when the attempts to bind her feet had been stopped altogether, because it seemed the only thing to do, did she cease her caterwauling and settle down. It was a defeat, but at least it brought comparative peace and quiet to Great Pine spice farm.
The irritating news that the Beautiful One from the House of Munn would not have lotus feet was conveyed to Ah-Jeh, the superintendent of the Ten Willows silk farm, who laid it before Ming-Chou. But the great man was tolerant. He would still accept the child, though she would never become a concubine for him or his sons or grandsons. Upon the day of her eighth birthday, he would buy her for one-third the price agreed
Strings of jumping crackers were set off to warn away hungry ghostseager to pounce upon the crumbs of the living. Incense sticks were burned, together with talismanic inscriptions daubed upon red paper. After many noisy moments of mystic incantation and a great rattling of ritualistic weaponry, the ashes of the talismans were mixed with a cup of pure spring water.
With the cup in his left hand and the all-powerful sword in his right, the exorcist prayed for power: “Gods of heaven and earth, invest me with the healing seal that I may purge this being of all evil that possesses her.” He picked up a switch of willow and dipped it into the cup, sprinkling first east, then west, north, and south. To reinforce the spell, he filled his mouth with the magic water and sprayed it over Li-Xia’s motionless body. Having banished all malignant spirits properly and eternally to the cellars of the Master of Heaven’s palace in far-off Kianghsi, the exorcism was officially and successfully completed.
The divine being then turned his attention to the burial of the great Goo-Mah, accompanying the ravaged coffin to the family burial spot beneath the great pine. This done, the group of professional mourners set up a wailing that could be heard for a mile across the fields, succeeding in rousing the dogs to add their howls of sorrow to this cacophony of lament. This was kept up to the accompaniment of gongs and firecrackers, drums and trumpets, until the divine being accepted his red packet from a tearful Yik-Munn. Then, with a final spray of magic water in the direction of Goo-Mah’s grave, he sheathed his demon-dispelling sword. Li-Xia was lifted from the altar, washed clean of chicken blood and ashes, and returned to the rice shed, where she fell into the deepest of sleeps.
Having performed his duty commensurate with Yik-Munn’s donation to the temple, the exorcist led the procession on its noisy way back to the village. Yik-Munn did not make it known that in the interests of prudence, he had persuaded the temple to carry out both rituals for the price of one.
A week later, the fox fairy disappeared for two days and was found even farther from the house. She had crossed the sea of silver millet and themustard field, leaped the irrigation ditch, and followed the river until her feet were sore and bleeding, but she felt no pain and would have walked for a thousand miles if they had not caught her. This time her brothers did not beat her and their curses were mild. Though they did not say so, they were wary of powers that even the exorcist seemed unable to appease, and could not deny the courage and determination of one so young. She was allowed to walk back unrestrained, and treated with caution on her return.
So troubled was Yik-Munn by the failure of the costly ceremony and the child’s continued defiance, he decided her re sis tance must be sanctioned by powers from above and must be respected more than punished.
Only when the attempts to bind her feet had been stopped altogether, because it seemed the only thing to do, did she cease her caterwauling and settle down. It was a defeat, but at least it brought comparative peace and quiet to Great Pine spice farm.
The irritating news that the Beautiful One from the House of Munn would not have lotus feet was conveyed to Ah-Jeh, the superintendent of the Ten Willows silk farm, who laid it before Ming-Chou. But the great man was tolerant. He would still accept the child, though she would never become a concubine for him or his sons or grandsons. Upon the day of her eighth birthday, he would buy her for one-third the price agreed
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