Conjuring Mountain Ghost (山鬼)

 

An illustration of the beautiful mountain ghost taken from intranet.

 

 

“Mountain Ghost” (山鬼) originates from an ancient poetry work dedicated to please the gods. The below poem is taken from the ninth poem of “The Nine Songs” (九歌). This spirit is called a mountain ghost because legend has it that this spirit is not yet promoted to the status of god by the emperor of the heaven.

 

One only has to go to a mountain with some offerings and incense and sing the below songs repeatedly:

 

“It is as if someone passes through the deep valleys, wearing pumila and carrots as skirt. She looks around with seductive smiles; she is gentle and lovely with very attractive figure.

She is riding on a red leopard and followed by a beaver; she rides on an osmanthus car with magnolia decorative flag. She wears Shi Lan and Du Heng, and plucks a branch of Acacia while missing your company.

In the depths of bamboo shrubs where sun light cannot penetrate, and the road is steep that lonely you arrives late.

Standing alone on the peak of a mountain, in the rolling and dispersing of ​​clouds.

The mountain is as dark as night even in the daylight. The east wind is roaring while the gods are casting rain.

I'm waiting for dear you in infatuation and forgotten to go back, the flowers are withering and how can I keep the bloom forever?

I am picking the fungus of longevity in the mountain; the rock is high and steep with wounding spiky rattans.

With a sense of loss grumbling about you hence forget go back; you misses me but cannot find time to come.

The one in the mountain is as pure and fragrance as Azaleas; drinking the stream water from rock seams with conifers over my head. (My mind is secretly pondering about you) Are you really serious about me?

Rolling thunder with drizzling rain; the apes are tweeting as the darkness falls.

The wind rustling while the tree twigs are falling, I am sad thinking of you alone.”

 

(仿佛有人经过深山谷坳，身披薜荔啊腰束女萝。含情流盼啊嫣然一笑，温柔而可爱啊形貌又非常娇好。

驾着赤豹啊紧跟文狸，辛夷为车啊桂花饰旗。披着石兰啊结着杜衡，而且又折枝鲜花啊聊寄相思。

竹林深处啊暗无天日，道路险峻啊独自来迟。

孤身一人啊伫立山巅，云海茫茫啊浮游卷舒。

山色幽暗啊白昼如夜，东风狂舞啊神灵降雨。

我痴情等你啊忘却归去，红颜凋谢啊怎能永葆花季？

我在山间采撷益寿的灵芝，岩石磊磊啊葛藤四处缠绕。

抱怨公子啊怅然忘却归去，你思念我啊却没空到来。

山中人儿就像杜若般芳洁，口饮石泉啊头顶松柏。（心念公子啊暗自沉吟）

你想我啊是真是假。

雷声滚滚啊细雨蒙蒙，猿鸣啾啾啊夜色沉沉。风声飒飒啊落木萧萧，思慕公子啊独自悲伤。)

 

I use the above ancient song to call my Vietnamese Ngai spirit together with the Thai Phi Phop. Personally I think they work well together as the Ngai spirits are mainly of animals origin while the Phi Phop are of plant or human origin… At least they appear to me in that way.