[updated November 2022]
Sai Shen Music
赛 神 曲
丛 祠 千 岁 临 江 渚
拜 贶 今 年 那 可 数？
须 晴 得 晴 雨 得 雨
人 意 所 向 神 辄 许。
嘉 禾 九 穗 持 上 府
庙 前 女 巫 递 歌 舞。
呜 呜 歌 讴 坎 坎 鼓
香 烟 成 云 神 降 语。
大 饼 如 褩 牲 腯 肥
再 拜 献 神 神 不 违。
晚 来 人 醉 相 扶 归
蝉 声 满 庙 锁 斜 晖。
Sai Shen Qu
Cong ci qian sui lin jiang zhu
Bai kuang jin nian na ke shu?
Xu qing de qing yu de yu
Ren yi suo xiang shen zhe xu.
Jia he jiu sui chi shang fu
Miao qian nu wu di ge wu.
Wu wu ge ou kan kan gu
Xiang yan cheng yun shen jiang yu.
Da bing ru pan sheng tu fei
Zai bai xian shen shen bu wei.
Wan lai ren zui xiang fu gui
Chan sheng man miao suo xie hui.
Sai Shen Music
Gathered around a local deity shrine, for one thousand years it overlooked a river islet
This year will give how many objects to honor this deity?
Praise him for the results of sun, and for just enough rain
Locals expect to praise often this deity’s place.
Gratitude for heavily-ladden grain stalks they can now show to high-level government officials
In front of the local shrine the female shaman leads all in singing and dancing.
“Wu Wu” folk songs and “Kan Kan” drums
Incense smoke becomes clouds, deities descend with a message.
Large, round flat cakes, plates of sacrificial pigs
Give honor and presents, deities will return with all positive results.
Evening arrives, people so drunk they have to hold each other up
Slanting sunlight, people gone home, the cicada sounds full in the temple.
Notes:
“Wu Wu” and “Kan Kan”: These are onomatopoeia for the sounds of birds and drums.