Narrative Poetry Creation of Folk Narrative Poetry

This kind of narrative poem came into being relatively early, and mostly takes the creation of the world, the origin of human beings, the origin of all natural things, the origin of nations and the creation of culture as the theme. These works are well preserved among the ethnic minorities in southwest China. For example, Meige of Yi nationality, Genesis of Naxi nationality, Genesis of Bai nationality, Milotuo of Yao nationality, Mupa of Lahu nationality, Mupa and Mima of Achang nationality, and ancient songs of Miao nationality and Zhuang nationality have all been collected and published. These works mainly describe the heroic achievements of world creators (gods, giants and demigods) in creating the world, human beings and all things in nature. Many narrative poems about creation praise these founders as cultural heroes and ancestors of our nation. This makes some long narrative poems about creation have broader content. For example, they often attribute the division of the four seasons, hunting, animal husbandry, farming, tool making, the invention of fire, the construction of houses, sacrifices, marriages, funerals and other production and life events to these cultural heroes. In the poems about the origin and migration of ethnic groups, they also play the role of ancestors and guardians of clans and tribes. In addition, there are some narrative poems of ethnic minorities about creation, including only the creation of the world and the origin of human beings, which are short in form, such as Song of Ancestors by Dong people, Twelve Suns by Buyi people, Song of Creation by Shiba Inu by Tibetans, etc.