the Achang myth [Photo/cultural-china.com]

The most important myth of the Achang is that of Zhepama and Zhemima that depicts the origin of the world and the first human beings in it.

In its primal state the world was a mass of air in chaos. The first thing that appeared was light, and after it, darkness. From the interaction between light and darkness Zhepama, the Celestial Father, and Zhemima, the Earthly Mother, arose.

In the void that existed after their creation, Zhepama, with the help of a magic whip, started the creation of the sky. Later he created the sun and the moon. He pulled up his breast (for that reason men don't have them) to make two high mountains, where he placed the sun and the moon. Between these two mountains he made a tree in such a way that the sun and the moon follow each other continuously. When you see the sun it is day time, if you see the moon, it is night time. Then he created the clouds, the stars and all that there is in the sky.

Next Zhemima knitted the earth. With the hair of her face and a lot of love, Zhemima created the earth of the east, of the south, of the west and of the north. Zhemima bled, and of her blood the seas that surround the earth were created. Then, of her flesh she made a great ship, on which rests the earth. But the earth was bigger than the sky, which could not cover it completely. Then Zhemima caused an earthquake and the mountains arose, and the sky was them adjusted perfectly to the earth.

Then Zhepama and Zhemima come to know each other, and of the admiration that each one felt for the work of the other arises love and the desire to create somebody to govern this world. After asking the nature, they decided to marry. After nine married years Zhemima gave birth to a pumpkin seed that grew until it become an enormous tree which blossomed into a single flower. This flower still took nine more years to produce a pumpkin that grew and grew, threatening to explode the world. Then Zhepama gave a lash with his magic whip, making a hole in the pumpkin, from which nine children emerged. Zhepama and Zhemima taught the children the proper tasks of each sex. These nine children are the ancestors of all the nations.

We Recommend:

Top 20 surnames in China	Record-breaking Transformers stun China	Merkel learns to cook traditional Chinese dish in Chengdu