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Saisiat Legend of the Origin of the Dwarf Spirit Ceremony

By Unknown

It is said that the Saisiat formerly lived together with the Pasdai dwarves. The Pasdai showed the Saisiat how to farm, gave them seeds, and taught them rites, ceremonies, songs, and dances. Therefore the Saisiat considered the Pasdai to be their benefactors, and invited them to come drink beer and make merry whenever there happened to be a festival or celebration. But once on the night of the harvest festival a dwarf took liberties with a Saisiat girl, and her tribesmen decided to take revenge. They cut in half the trunk of the mountain loquat tree that served as a bridge to the village of the dwarves. All the dwarves on the bridge fell into the water and died, and only two managed to escape. These two dwarves composed a song containing their exhortations to the Saisiat. They gave this song to the Saisiat in hopes that the latter would remember their admonishments and hold regular ceremonies in honor of the dwarves. As the two dwarves departed to the east along the river, they pulled the leaves off palm trees and warned the Saisiat that their crops would wither and their tribe become extinct if they did not heed the dwarves' words. In hope that the dwarves will protect them and their crops, the Saisiat hold a dwarf spirit ceremony every year to console the spirits of the dwarves and pray for their blessings.

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