An indigenous poet of the Nuosu (Yi) people of mountainous southwestern
China, Jidi Majia is well known and celebrated among the Chinese. But
his lyrical and worldly work, though widely published and honored, has
not found its voice in English translation in the West. The poems in
Rhapsody in Black, presented in Chinese and deftly translated by the
gifted and respected Denis Mair, at long last introduce the
English-speaking world to this remarkable Chinese writer.
The poetry of Jidi Majia is deeply grounded in the myths and oral
traditions of the Nuosu minority. It evokes times past but also speaks
with eloquence of our global moment. Replete with cultural textures and
local idiom, the poems provide an exquisite opening into the Nuosu
world. In their ethnic richness, they also resonate with the voices of
the indigenous and the dispossessed, from Native American and South
American Indian poets to the African American and aboriginal Australian
writers preserving and reshaping cultural identity.
Jidi Majia's voice sounds the depths of natural, cultural, and spiritual
reality. In his poem "Voice of the Bimo," the power of a Nuosu
ritualist's expression is reflected in his own:
In tones both human and divine, it utters
A praise song for birth and death
When it invokes sun, stars, rivers, and ancient heroes
When it summons deities and surreal powers
Departed beings commence their resurrection!
The poems in this volume broaden and deepen our experience of the
world--Jidi Majia's and our own.
