The Goddess of the Rice of the Deang

For the western reader who has insured the basic aspects of his existence of the cradle to the grave, perhaps it is difficult to imagine the living conditions so different that it experiences a big part of the population of our planet. For million persons who live every day of the agriculture or the cattle, his survival still depends on a series of natural factors that will allow or not, the flowering and multiplication of his animals or plants.

This situation, far from being an exotic anomaly, has been the general situation of the humanity (included the western one) up to only a few decades ago. It is no wonder then that one of the most important roles of the religion, between the agricultural peoples, is to develop formulae that allow to influence of some form, on this capricious nature on which the life of the people depends. This way, not only the agricultural deities are the most important for numerous peoples, but the proper idea of the existence of the persons tends to be perceived, as points out Joseph Campbell, in a cyclical succession of more or less similar individuals.

Although the Deang are nominally Buddhists, owed fundamentally to the influence of his neighbors Daile during hundreds of years, they preserve still at present a good number of traces of his primitive religion, of which perhaps the showiest is the cult to the Goddess of the Rice.

In fact, they have a legend that there counts like long ago Buddha and the Goddess of the Rice they competed for demonstrating his power. In a moment in which Buddha was doing a religious holiday, the Goddess of the Rice disappeared. The people, without rice, did not want to celebrate the holiday, and proper Buddha was in search of the Goddess of the Rice so that it was returning. This story serves to justify this religious syncretism of the Deang, in which his traditional deities share leading role with the Buddhists.

The Goddess of the Rice, the most important of these traditional deities, is venerated several times throughout the year; since it is considered to be closely associated with the different aspects of the agricultural cycle.

The whole cultivation process goes accompanied by a series of ceremonies in honor of the Goddess of the Rice, which are realized by the hope that the harvest grows well. The plow is an activity that the men realize, but before them start, the women at the edge of the field sing aloud to the Goddess of the Rice: "Oh, goddess. Come to protect our field, do not leave that the deer and other animals trample on it." Only when they have finished his singings there start the men to plow the ground.

The women realize the sowing, but before beginning to sow, they realize also a solemn ceremony in honor of the Goddess of the Rice. During the same one the people meet in the field, the children with cymbals and drums, a chicken and a pig sacrifices himself, praise songs are sung so that the grain grows well, a ritual meal is realized, and only then the women initiate the sowing.

At the moment of removing the weeds, already a platform has been constructed in every house to honor the Goddess of the rice. During the ceremonies that are realized in this productive phase it is necessary to read the name of seven brothers and seven sisters of this goddess. This altarcito placed on the plot of principal wood of the house, is a ceremonies object three times every month, directed by the head of the family.

About the autumn it is when there is realized the harvest, which is also a work of the women. During this time gifts are done continuously to the Goddess of the Rice, and a small house species is even constructed for her, with a structure of bamboo, a few boxes and white role. It is called: "The house of the goddess".

Before the harvest the called ceremony is realized "to Prove the new rice". For it there takes of the field the first rice that matures, and takes to house where it is mixed by the old rice to do a ritual meal. Before eating him, the Goddess of the Rice is offered: "Goddess of the Rice, proves our new rice." Also it is fed to the ox and to the dog, to be grateful to them respectively having worked the ground, and having protected it. Then Buddhist seeks employment in the temple, and finally the family has occasion to prove the new rice.

Before the threshing also the gifts are prepared for the Goddess of the Rice, which must consist of the food that she likes eating: bananas, fruit, meat, fish, sweets. The whole world, men and women, they go to the field with the gifts for the goddess, singing: "Goddess of the Rice, to get up. Wash your hands, wash your face. He eats these bananas, eats this meat, eats this fish." Then the women start with the threshing. At midday he rests from this work, and they pray again to the Goddess of the Rice. On having finished in the night, they say it again, asking that should return to house with them.

Then they take the grain to the store and take also there the small house that they did for the Goddess of the Rice, where he will rest until the following year when they will ask him to help them again.

There are two types of ceremonies in honor of the Goddess of the Rice, some in those who inform the whole village, which is done in the temple Buddhist. Others are done at familiar level before the altar that every family has in his house.

More information in:
Campbell, Joseph. - The masks of god.
Yu Ru. - Deang zu wenhua shi (History of the culture Deang). Publishing house of the Nationalities of Yunnan. Kunming. 1999

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