Hmong Folklore – Ngao Njua And Shee Na (The Story of The Plain of Jars)

Ngao Njua and Shee Na

(The Story of the Plain of Jars) | Shee Na had a beautiful wife. Her name was Ngao Njua. | www.reninc.org

A rich man wanted her, so he took her away. He said, “You are my eighth wife.” She cried and Shee Na cried too. This made the sky cloudy and rainy. The rich man said, “Ngao Njua won’t smile.” Shee Na said, “I’m going to Ngao Njua. I’m going to bring her home.” He took off his good clothes. He put on animal skins and feathers. He took his kheng. He went a long way to the rich man’s house. Shee Ma came to that house. He looked up at Ngao N jua’s window. He played his kheng. She heard and she understood the kheng’s words. She looked out the window and she smiled. The rich man saw her smile. He said, “Ngao Njua smiled. I didn’t make her smile. Who made her smile?” He looked out the window. And he saw a man wearing animal skins. So he went outside. And he said to Shee Ba, “I want to buy your clothes. I want to be funny. I want to make my wife smile.” He bought Shee Na’s clothes and he put them on. Shee Na put on the rich man’s clothes. But some dogs smelled the animal skins.

They jumped on the rich man and killed him. The rich man had two sons. They came home. Shee Na said to Ngao Njua, “I am afraid. The rich man’s sons will kill us.” So Shee Na and Ngao Njua ran away. They ran and ran. The rich man’s sons ran after them. The sons came to a village. They asked, “Did you see a man and a woman?” The people answered, “Yes. Very early this morning. At the rooster’s first crow They went this way.” So the sons went that way. They chased Ngao Njua and Shee Na. And they came to a second village. They asked, “Did you see a man and a woman?” The people answered, “Yes. Very early this morning. At the rooster’s first crow. They went this way. So the sons ran that way. They chased Ngao Njua and Shee Na some more. They came to a third village. They asked, “Did you see a man and a woman?” The people answered, “Yes. Very early this morning. At the rooster’s first crow. They went this way.” The sons were tired. They said, “We don’t know where Shee Na went.

Did he go this way? Did he go that way? We’re going home. And they went home. Ngao Njua and Shee Na ran for many days. Every night they stopped. They ate and slept. They made pots for cooking. But they couldn’t carry the pots. They left them. And every night they made more. Our grandparents say, “Go to the Plain of Jars, in Laos. You will see some big jars. The jars are the pots of Ngao Njua and Shee Na. Ngao Njua and Shee Na made them a long, long time ago.”