ḿ ttjjàq ttó dzɛ-ə, ‘chanting to get rid of the ḿ ttjjàqq’’

One type of outside chanting ceremony for an illness that is not severe is called ḿ tjàq tó dzɛ-ə. In his breakdown of types of spirit chanting into major and minor types (based on the type of advanced notice that must be given to the spirit priest and on the degree of ritual abstinence that is required), the spirit priest of Bear Mountain Village classified the ḿ tjàq tó dzɛ-ə ceremony as a ‘minor’ ceremony (jɔ zà), and the khὲghɛ-ə ceremony as a ‘major’ ceremony (jɔ hỳ).

I was told that because ḿ tjàq tó dzɛ-ə is done for relatively minor illnesses, it may be done without any inside chanting. It may be done for a person of any age or sex. One case was that done for a person who was walking on a path outside the village and was afflicted by a spirit there. Note the connection between the outside and danger.

The meaning of ḿ tjàq is also somewhat obscure. The first syllable ḿ refers to the sky, or in its alternate form, ù, refers to the head. The second syllable tjàq appears often in ceremonies where some misfortune due to outside spirits has occurred. Lewis gives one meaning as ‘to wrong someone’ (1968: 65).

khὲghɛ-ə, ‘in the condition of having an opening’

There are two main types of khὲ ceremonies. One is done at the household (zɔq) level, called zɔq khὲ ghɛ-ə, and one is done at the village (pu) level, called pu khὲ gh ɛ-ə. The verb ghɛ-ə means ‘being in the condition of’.

Household khὲ ghɛ-ə

At the household level, khὲ ghɛ-ə must be performed with an inside ceremony. This linking indicates its level of seriousness.

The zɔq khὲ ghɛ-ə ceremony is performed in cases of serious illness or what may be termed ‘category violations’ or ‘ritual impurity’ at the household level. In addition, it may be performed if a family wants to increase its gỳlàn, presumably as a protective measure against the outside forces. The cases of ritual impurity were almost always linked to the possibility of future illness if something was not done first as a protective measure.