在云龙县与洱源县交界的罗坪山深处，白族村寨的本主庙里，供奉着一块特殊的白石。它不是精雕细琢的神像，亦非远道请来的佛菩萨，而是一块天然的白灰色岩石——被当地百姓尊为“白岩天子”的本主神。这则神话，讲述了一块石头如何从山间岩洞走入人间庙堂，成为一境守护者的传奇故事。

Deep in the Luoping Mountains at the junction of Yunlong and Eryuan counties, a special white stone is enshrined in the Benzhu temple of a Bai village. It is neither a meticulously carved statue nor a Buddha or Bodhisattva invited from afar, but a natural white-gray rock—revered by the local people as the "White Rock Heavenly King." This myth tells the legendary story of how a stone traveled from a mountain cave into a human shrine and became the guardian deity of an entire region.

远古时期，罗坪山上的白族先民以放羊为生。渴了喝羊奶，饿了杀羊吃肉，冷了把羊皮裹在身上，日子虽清苦，却与羊群相依为命。然而有一年，一场突如其来的瘟疫席卷了羊群，一只接一只地倒下死去。人们以为这是“血鬼”作祟，便纷纷把羊赶到深山里藏匿起来。

In ancient times, the Bai ancestors in the Luoping Mountains made their living by herding sheep. When thirsty, they drank sheep's milk; when hungry, they slaughtered sheep for meat; when cold, they wrapped themselves in sheepskins. Though life was hard, they lived in close dependence with their flocks. However, one year, a sudden plague swept through the sheep herds, and they began to fall and die one after another. Believing it to be the work of a "blood ghost," the people drove their flocks deep into the mountains to hide.

一位老汉将自己的羊群赶进了一片茂密的竹林后，疲惫不堪，躺在一块大青边的草地上歇息。刚合上眼皮，忽听对面岩壁传来阵阵羊叫声。他抬头望去，只见悬崖绝壁上的一个大岩洞中，密密麻麻挤着一群白生生的羊，一只只油光水滑。老汉心生好奇，攀着葛藤、蹬着岩缝，爬进洞中。然而洞里哪有什么羊群，只有一堆堆白石头。

After driving his flock into a dense bamboo grove, an old man, exhausted, lay down on the grassy ground beside a large ravine to rest. No sooner had he closed his eyes than he heard the bleating of sheep from the cliff opposite. Looking up, he saw a large cave on the sheer precipice, densely packed with a flock of pure white sheep, each one sleek and glossy. Driven by curiosity, the old man climbed into the cave, grasping vines and stepping into rock crevices. But inside, there was no flock of sheep—only piles of white stones.

老汉懊恼不已，以为是看花了眼。他顺手拣了一块白石头枕在头下，就在洞中睡去。刚入梦乡，那群白羊又围了过来，枕边还坐着一位白胡子老倌。老倌对他说：“我就是你枕边的这块石头，是专管羊子的神。若你们把我接回去供为本主，羊子便能免遭瘟疫、羊群发旺；否则，我便叫你们的羊子全部死光。”老汉猛然惊醒，赶紧用羊皮褂包起那块白石头，背回村中。

Frustrated and thinking he had been seeing things, the old man picked up a white stone, laid his head on it, and fell asleep in the cave. In his dream, the white sheep surrounded him again, and beside his pillow sat a white-bearded old man. The old man said to him: "I am the stone beneath your head, the god who oversees the sheep. If you take me back and enshrine me as your Benzhu, the sheep will be spared from plague and the flocks will flourish. If not, I will make every last one of your sheep die." The old man woke with a start, wrapped the white stone in his sheepskin coat, and carried it back to the village.

他将梦中奇遇告知全村。众人当即动手盖起庙宇，将这块白石头供奉在神龛之上，杀鸡祭献、焚香磕头。神奇的是，全村病倒的羊群竟一夜痊愈，所有母羊怀胎，产下一群群健壮的小羊，羊群空前繁盛。因不知这位石神的名号，人们便尊称它为“白岩天子”。

He told the whole village about his miraculous dream. The villagers immediately set to work building a temple, enshrined the white stone on the altar, and offered sacrifices of chickens, incense, and kowtows. Miraculously, all the sick sheep in the village recovered overnight, every ewe conceived and gave birth to sturdy lambs, and the flocks prospered like never before. Not knowing the stone deity's name, the people reverently called it the "White Rock Heavenly King."

自此，白岩天子成为这一带村寨的本主，世代享受香火祭祀。每逢正月初三本主生日，全村都要到庙中祭献；外出远行前，也要来焚香磕头，祈求一路平安；遇到灾祸瘟疫，更要请“朵希薄”跳神上刀山，请本主驱鬼消灾。这块石头至今仍供奉在云龙县开子地村的本主庙中。

From then on, the White Rock Heavenly King became the Benzhu of the local villages, receiving incense offerings for generations. On the third day of the first lunar month, the deity's birthday, the entire village would gather at the temple to make sacrifices. Before setting out on a journey, people would come to burn incense and kowtow, praying for a safe trip. When disasters or plagues struck, they would invite the "Duoxibo" to perform ritual dances and climb mountains of knives, calling upon the Benzhu to expel evil spirits and ward off calamities. This stone is still enshrined today in the Benzhu temple of Kaizidi Village, Yunlong County.

这则神话，是白族先民巨石崇拜的生动遗存。在白族地区，类似的“石神”本主并不少见——云龙县大石壁村供奉“黑岩赫威本主”，洱源县有“石明月”传说，大理有“美人石”“石将军”等。白族先民相信奇形巨石中有神灵存在，这种源于远古的自然崇拜，后来逐渐融入本主信仰体系，成为白族文化中一道独特的风景。

This myth is a living relic of the ancient stone worship of the Bai ancestors. In Bai areas, similar "stone deity" Benzhu are not uncommon—the "Black Rock Hewei Benzhu" in Dashi Bi Village of Yunlong County, the "Stone Bright Moon" legend in Eryuan County, and the "Beauty Stone" and "Stone General" in Dali. The Bai ancestors believed that divine spirits resided within strangely shaped boulders. This form of nature worship, originating in ancient times, gradually merged into the Benzhu belief system, becoming a distinctive feature of Bai culture.

参考文献

[1] 云南省民间文学集成办公室 编. 白族神话传说集成[M]. 北京: 中国民间文艺出版社, 1986: 129-131. 

[2] 张云公 讲述，谢道辛 记录. 白岩天子[A]. 云南省民间文学集成办公室. 白族神话传说集成[C]. 北京: 中国民间文艺出版社, 1986: 129-131.