The Legend of Luoqiluoye and Zhasizhayi

Once upon a time in Keman (a Hani village), a young man called Luoqiluoye fell in love with a young lady Zhasizhayi. Luoqiluoye did everything he could to win the lady's heart; he played tunes to her with simple instruments he made from grass roots and leaves, but she said they were plain; he sang love songs to her by playing strings made from chestnut wood; again, she gave a snicker to it. Luoqiluoye was upset, but he didn't lose heart; instead, an idea came into his head; "Maybe I should make her a leather drum", he thought. He immediately set about it.

On the first day, he cut down a large Chinese toon in the forest on the mountain; on the second day, he chose the straightest part of its trunk and cut it off; he carried this part of trunk home on the third day. From the forth day, he kept on hollowing the trunk into a drum. On the eleventh day, he finished the hollowing and the drum came to its figure. However, he had no leather to be used as drum heads. Since the next day turned out to be lunar June 24th, on which day "KuZhaZha" (Hani Foods Festival) began, and all the other young villagers were ready to play their lovers their own instruments; Luoqiluoye troubled himself a whole day on thinking what to do. He was still in vain on the next morning when the sun had just risen up. Right at this moment, a magpie from the "Long Forest" behind the village flew by and perched on his head for a while, and then flew again towards the forest on the mountain opposite.

Following the magpie, Luoqiluoye came to the foot of a cliff, from the top of which a wild ox had just fallen down. With all its four limbs broken, the ox was moaning with great pain. Moans after moans of the ox, sounded as if it was praying to be killed and terminate its anguish as soon as possible. Seeing this sign, Luoqiluoye believed that the ox was sent by gods to help him making his drum; so he killed it, took off its leather and made his leather drum done. On this day, he drummed the newly made leather drum worshipping gods as well as mourning for the wild ox. Moreover, on hearing the drumming, Zhasizhayi smiled contentedly--she was finally conquered by Luoqiluoye and his leather drum. 

The two young people got married and lived a happy life. Later on, the couple initiated Hani people's fighting against feudalism and both sacrificed in battle. As two national heroes, their stories had been handed down through the ages, and were collected in Hani epics in the name of Luoqiluoye and Zhasizhayi. The leather drum invented by Luoqiluoye is only drummed on happy days like Foods Festival, wedding days, and so on, because of the joyful legend about it.

(Edit:Ruby)