China's Dagur Minority - Sino-Platonic Papers

enough, three bends of the Hailar River froze. Gahucha said, "Now you can safelydrive the animals across the river."The Death of GahuchaLong ago the archives of the Hulunbuir local government were stolen. Finally, theofficials invited Gahucha to dance. After requesting 30 armed soldiers Gahucha said,"When I dance, the brass mirror on my back will fall and roll away. I want all of youto chase it." When he danced, his brass mirror dropped and rolled out of the gate ofthe government court directly toward the rear of a Guanyu Temple, where there weremany graves. When the mirror stopped at a grave, Gahucha ordered the 30 soldiersto dig. He said, "No matter what you see, don't be frightened. Kill it with yourweapons. If you are in danger, I will help you."A coffin was dug out which contained many archives, but when they opened theinner cover of the coffin, they discovered a man wearing dark glasses, reading abook. Instead of killing the man, the soldiers fled, leaving their weapons behind.Without help, Gahucha took up a spear and killed the demon. Unfortunately, thedemon's blood splashed on a sleeve of his magic clothing. With his deity stained bythe demon's blood, he was frequently afflicted with disease and soon died.Gahucha 's MirrorsGahucha had two very effective mirrors from Ulaanbaatar. The large one, which hewore on his back, was called arhan tuoli. The small one was called nieker hull'. Itwas his heart-protecting mirror.After Gahucha died, the heart-protecting mirror was passed to Sukedai Yadgan. Hetook it with him wherever he went. Every time he went out driving his freight cartto earn money, and then returned from Qiqihar, the heart-protecting mirror rolledback home ahead of him by 2-3 days, informing his family of his imminent return.When a lama living in seclusion at a temple heard about this mirror, he found it soevil that he purchased it for one silver dollar from Sukedai Yadgan. To purge it ofevil, the lama put it in a three-layer bag and began chanting. After chanting for 2days and nights he was exhausted. He touched the bag, found the mirror was stillinside, and then put the bag under his head and fell asleep. When he woke up, themirror had vanished. It had rolled out of the bag and was retrieved by its formerowner, whom it had been following before he reached Qiqihar. When SukedaiYadgan reached Qiqihar, he bought many things with the money given by the lama.While he was passing through the Xingan Mountains on his way home, he met thelama and showed him the mirror. The lama admitted that he had lost much [themirror and the money]. From then on, the mirror remained in the hands of theManna Mokon hojoor yodgan. To prevent the mirror from rolling away, he wrappedit in women's trousers and, as a result, the mirror lost its effectiveness. This mirrorwas said to be in the magic robe of the last hojoor yadgan, Wurgaibu of MannaMokon.Gahucha Chooses a Temple SiteKuisu and Fanqiabu, ancestors of Manna and Dengteke Mokons, did not return totheir ancestral home of Buteha, but settled near a pond 2 kilometers south of Hailar.They planned to build what is now Guanghui Temple at Nantun, and asked Gahuchato choose an auspicious temple location. While Gahucha danced south of Hailar, he