**14. Three Brothers**

An altar was established after a long break, replacing the tali tree altar. Yang performed this "outside altar" at the house's main entrance under the advisement of Shi and Tian.

The altar table was surrounded by three chairs and set as a mnemonic of the "Three Brothers" narrative, also known as the Three Generals or Three Heavenly Kings. In all variations of the mythology, the three brothers were surnamed Yang *Tianwang* 天 王; their full title historically was White Emperor Heavenly Kings or *Baidi Tianwang* 白 帝 天 王 (Katz 2022, p. 61) and was the basis of a widespread cult originating during the Ming dynasty (if not earlier) and flourishing in West Hunan during the Qing or Republican periods (Sutton 2000, p. 448).

The mythology of the Three Heavenly Kings was a Miao myth developed in the face of conflict with the Han. Ironically, it was adopted by the Han and other regional ethnic groups, becoming widespread and popularized regionally. As a myth, it has undergone transformations reflecting its social, cultural, and political journey and serving and adjusting to local needs. However, the myth, in all its various tellings, is central to Miao culture and mythological origins of its families, and historical injustices endured.

The three brothers were generals of the Song dynasty [960–1279], who were full of wisdom and courage. After the Miao came out in revolt they led forces to attack them. They knew the Miao always craved drink and food. Since the weather happened to be severely cold, they slaughtered many oxen and pigs, cooked them and suspended them in the trees. The Miao mob fought each other to drink and eat. They [the brothers] surprised them and inflicted a severe defeat. Thereupon the Nine Creeks and the Eighteen Caverns were opened up, and only five surnames of the scattered Miao survived: these are the Wu, Long, Shi, Liao, and Ma clans of today. Later some disobedient people were jealous of the [brothers'] exploits and presented them with poisoned wine, giving it as if by royal command. The brothers drank it and died simultaneously. It was just at the Small Summer Festival. (Sutton 2000, p. 461).

The telling of the myth specifically referenced by the zhuiniu adds detail and nuanced meaning to the ritual performed.

The Emperor gave the brothers three flagons of wine, telling them to drink them when they arrived home. But the wine was poisoned, and all three died when they stopped to drink en route. Since the first drank only one cup, this god's face is white. The second drank two cups and turned red, and the third three and so his image has a black face. (Sutton 2000, p. 486)

The ritual began with a rooster sacrifice. As with other ritual segments, it was essential that the sacrifice—a goat, rooster, or pig—be alive and presented at the altar prior to sacrifice "to demonstrate it is fresh. This is necessary to show they are alive before killing and sending them to the gods" (Yang 2018b).

The setting and all props and actions of this ritual were shaped and referenced, and together they constitute a retelling of the mythic narrative of three brave and loyal brothers who were generals (Figure 13). The story's telling reaffirms Miao's ethical forthrightness and is held up as a moral model for the zhuiniu. Association with three powerful generals also references martial prowess and protection of the family and the Miao people. The myth portrayed heroism in the face of betrayal, an analogy for the Miao condition at the hands of the Han—historical occurrences interpolated into the cosmological narrative.

**Figure 13.** Badai Yang at the altar for the three brothers. (Photo: Thomas Riccio).

The narrative, in another variation of telling demonstrates its mailability:

In ancient times there were three brothers who were loyal generals of the emperor. After fighting courageously and wining grea<sup>t</sup> battles and a war for the emperor, they returned to Beijing. The success and popularity of the generals worried the emperor, and he saw them as a threat. The emperor lavished gifts on the three brother generals, including poison wines, and they died. However, they died in different ways. The poison directly killed one—his face turned black, the second saw his brother die and died of anger—his face was red. The third, discovering his two brothers poisoned and dead, died of fright—his face was white. Because of their loyalty, courage and betrayal at the emperor's hands, they became gods. The name of the three brother-generals were, Fujin, Fuyin, and Fuya (Tian 2018b).

Historical events and atrocities remain vivid in the minds and hearts of the Miao to this day. The narrative builds on the tali tree ritual by tracing the generational haunting of the Miao people, a succession of betrayals and injustices perpetrated by Han invasions and occupations. The three brothers are a widespread, dynamic, and easily digested story of injustice and betrayal. It is not Miao in origin. The myth was appropriated, enabling the Miao to revisit historical wounds, grieve, and identify with the dutiful, moral, and honorable superiority exampled by the brothers. Their elevation to god status offered some comfort and restored some degree of self-respect, taking the sting out of the Miao defeat and colonization at the hands of the Han.

The altar table was surrounded by three chairs representing the three brothers. An open umbrella rests one chair, representing the brothers' elevated status—in ancient China, an umbrella shielded high-ranking persons from the sun. At the fourth side of the altar, Yang knelt and officiated.<sup>22</sup> On the chairs were paper flags (white and gold) on sticks stuck into rice cakes, symbols of the armies each brother led.

On the table were arranged offerings to the three brothers: a large square container of rice stuck with burning incense sticks and seven bowls, each representing the gifts of the seven harvest gods portrayed by the earlier, inside altar ritual. Three bowls offered rice, meat, and wine as the inside altar. The seven bowls multiplied by the three bowls represent the brothers, equating to the numerologically auspicious number of twenty-one.

Yang's chants follow an established invocational pattern to send the sacrifices to their proper palaces in heaven. The sequence of the ritual is as follows: (1) inviting spiritual teachers for assistance, (2) telling the three bothers their intention, (3) identifying the family seeking assistance and reason for the offerings, (4) presenting the sacrificial offerings to the three brothers, (5) describing the offerings, (6) asking the three brothers to send the offerings to the palace inhabited by female gods, (7) declaring the family's intention of sending the water buffalo sacrifice to the second palace in heaven (more on this below), and (8) sending the helping spiritual teachers back to their proper place in heaven and closing the ritual.

Sending offerings to two distinct palaces in heaven spoke directly to the mythological origin of the zhuiniu. Each segmen<sup>t</sup> of the zhuiniu is part of a narrative progression. The ritual served to integrate participants into Miao mythology. The ritual takes the family on the journey. The zhuiniu constitutes a participatory reiteration and reaffirmation of the Miao worldview. The myth, in brief, may be recounted thus:

In the old times, there was a poor family. A boy from a poor family was sent to another family to bring an ox. When the boy returned, he took care of an ox for his family.

Many years later, when the boy grew into a man up, and the ox was getting old, his family would like to pay him, but the man said, "I don't want to be paid. I just want that ox." And they gave him the ox, and he took it to start his own family and ge<sup>t</sup> married. The ox told him that he must go to a specific place, a path, where the spirit women come wearing green cloth and there, he will find his wife.

The boy married a spirit woman, and they had a baby. Several years later, the spirit woman returned to the place, the path to heaven and took the wife and baby away. The man missed his wife and his baby and wanted to go to heaven, but he was a mortal and could not go to heaven. The water buffalo god saw this and wanted to help the man. He said, "Just stand on my horns and I would send you up to heaven."

The man did so, and he came close to heaven and saw a palace. He was at the edge of heaven, and the spirit women knew he was there because he was mortal and smelled terrible, and they drove him away without seeing his wife and baby. Then the bull offered another way. 'The only possible way is for you to kill me and send me as a sacrifice to the gods. And then you will have a chance to ge<sup>t</sup> to heaven to see your wife and son. But because I, the god of water buffalos, do not belong to that palace, I belong to the other heaven palace, when you kill me, you need to send me to another palace. Because I need to go back to my palace when I die but you can use my body, as a gift to send to the relatives of the other gods coming from your wife's family' (C. Shi 2018c).

Tian commented on the importance of the myth and how the zhuiniu enacts it.

This is the highest level of ritual. It is how the man go<sup>t</sup> the chance to see his wife and son. For the Miao, it is the highest possible ritual for a mortal because they can visit heaven. That is why there are two different altars. One is to invite the gods where his wife and boy were living. That is represented by the participation of the uncle's family—the maternal part of the family. The other altar is to send the bull spirits back to his palace. (Tian 2018c).
