Introduction.

This short piece suggests that, in addition to the rituals described by Wang Ming-ji in his account of Miao ancestor worship, M352 to M354, the spirits were welcomed on their arrival for a sacrificial offering, by having their feet washed, and this ritual was repeated before they were escorted on their way back to their abode. Unfortunately there is no description of how it was carried out, beyond the fact that some water was heated and poured into a bowl for washing. It may be that there was nothing more. The water was simply placed in the bowl, an incantation recited, and then the water was thrown away. According to song M384, the women performed the foot-washing duty, but, of course, any incantation would have been chanted by the zu-mu.

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