Zhe Pama and Zhe Mima poetic genesis

Year: 2006

Sort: Folk Literature

Area: Yunnan province

Serial No.: Ⅰ-3

Declarer: Lianghe county, Yunnan province

Zhe Pama and Zhe Mima is a voluminous poetry legend of the Achang people. Nowadays, it is told mainly in the Dehong-Dai-Jingpo autonomous region in Yunnan province in both poetic song and colloquial forms.

The population of the Achang people numbers nearly 30,000, and is located primarily in Dehong, Yunnan. In the Achang's religious and folk activities, the Zhe Pama and Zhe Mima is essential. People also sing it when they build houses and welcome relatives or matchmakers for weddings. The beginning part is a sort of family tree, which praises Zhe Pama and Zhe Mima, the ancestors of the Achang people who created human beings and made them multiply.

The legends of Zhe Pama and Zhe Mima are similar, and deal mainly with how they created the world, restricted the floods, produced humankind, conquered the devil, and finally brought peace to the world. They are not only the supreme gods, but also the protectors of the Achang people, and the masters of their sacrifices. Zhe Pama and Zhe Mima reflects the transformation of the Zhuang society from a matrilineal one to a patrilineal one. Zhe Pa Ma and Zhe Mi Ma is a monument to the Achang people's culture, and it is called the song of the Achang people.

Fifty years ago, the story of Zhe Pama and Zhe Mima was widely known and almost all the Achang people could tell it. Now, since fewer people can speak the ancient Achang language, this ancient legend is disappearing.