Zhepamahezhemima
01 · Historical Records
Fifty years ago the story of Zhepama and Zhemima was known to every household, and Achang men and women, old and young, could tell it orally.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Achang number more than thirty thousand, living mainly in the three Achang townships of Jiubao and Nangsong in Lianghe county and Husa in Longchuan county, Dehong prefecture, Yunnan. In Achang religious and folk activities the whole of Zhepama and Zhemima must be recited. Ordinary people, when building a house, welcoming relatives or meeting the matchmaker at a wedding, sing and dance the Woluo. The legend of Zhepama and Zhemima is basically the same in content whether as sung verse or plain prose story. It tells how the Achang ancestors Zhepama and Zhemima made heaven and wove earth, subdued the flood, created humanity and outwitted the evil demon Lahong, restoring peace to the universe. Zhepama and Zhemima are not only the supreme good deities most worshipped by the Achang but also the protecting deities of every ordinary household and the presiding deities of Achang sacrificial activities. Zhepama and Zhemima is a long narrative poem of creation and at the same time vividly reflects humanity's transition from matriarchy to patriarchy; the salt-mother myth in the story is a “living fossil” of the nomadic culture of the ancient south-western peoples. It is a monument in the development of Achang culture, which the Achang call “our nation's song”.
Making Heaven and Weaving Earth
One of the main episodes of Zhepama and Zhemima.
Subduing the Flood
One of the main episodes of Zhepama and Zhemima.
Creating Humanity
One of the main episodes of Zhepama and Zhemima.
Outwitting the Evil Demon Lahong
One of the main episodes, showing how the ancestors restored peace to the universe.
The Woluo Dance
The Achang sing and dance the Woluo when building a house, welcoming relatives or meeting the matchmaker at a wedding, an important occasion for chanting the epic.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
The Achang long verse creation myth Zhepama and Zhemima circulates mainly among the Achang people of Lianghe county, Dehong Dai and Jingpo autonomous prefecture, Yunnan, transmitted to this day in the two forms of sung verse and plain oral prose. The Achang number more than thirty thousand, living mainly in the three Achang townships of Jiubao and Nangsong in Lianghe county and Husa in Longchuan county.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Achang long verse creation myth Zhepama and Zhemima circulates mainly among the Achang of Lianghe county, Dehong Dai and Jingpo autonomous prefecture, Yunnan, transmitted to this day as sung verse and plain oral prose. Its opening lines trace the family genealogy, first singing of the Achang ancestors Zhepama and Zhemima creating humanity so that the people could intermarry and multiply. Today, as fewer and fewer people understand ancient Achang, the “huosi” (priests) able to chant the epic have fallen from eight to two, and the ancient creation myth is on the verge of dying out. The epic's protagonists Zhepama and Zhemima are the two gods of opening described by the Achang. The epic is full of magnificent and marvellous visions and preserves the Achang forebears' original memory of the formation of heaven and earth and the origin of humanity and all things, of important value for studying Achang history, belief and custom. The whole of it is sung in Achang, and at a time when the Achang language is rapidly weakening and dying the huopao has become a living vehicle for studying ancient Achang.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Cao Mingkuan 01-0005
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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