Folklore of the Santal Parganas - Cecil Henry Bompas (paper ebook reader .TXT) 📗

 

There was once a young _bonga_ who dwelt in a cave in the side of a

hill in the jungle; and every day he placed on a flat stone outside,

a pot of oil and a comb and a looking glass and some lamp black or

vermilion; any woman who went to the jungle could see these things

lying there; but they were never visible to a man. After a time the

girls who went to the jungle began to use the comb and looking glass

and to dress and oil their hair there; it became a regular custom for

them to go first to the flat stone before collecting their firewood

or leaves.

 

One day five girls went together to the jungle and after they had

combed and dressed their hair it happened that one got left behind;

and seeing her alone the _bonga_ came out of the cave and creeping

up quietly from behind threw his arms round her; and although she

shouted to her friends for help he dragged her inside the cave. Her

companions were just in time to see her disappear; and they begged

and prayed the _bonga_ to let the girl go for once; but the _bonga_

answered from within that he would never let her go but was going to

keep her as his wife; and he drew a stone door over the mouth of the

cave. News of the misfortune was sent to the girl's parents and they

came hastening to the place; and her mother began to sing:

 

 

    "My daughter, you rubbed your hair with oil from a pot:

    My daughter, you combed your hair with a comb with one row of teeth;

    Come hither to me, my daughter."

 

 

And the girl sang from within the cave:

 

 

    "Mother, he has shut me in with a stone

    With a stone door he has shut me in, mother

    Mother, you must go back home."

 

 

Then her father sang the same song and got the same answer; so they

all went home. Then the girl's father's younger brother and his wife

came and sang the song and received the same answer and then her

mother's brother and father's sister came and then all her relations,

but all in vain. Last of all came her brother riding on a horse and

when he heard his sister's answer he turned his horse round and made

it prance and kick until it kicked open the stone door of the cave;

but this was of no avail for inside were inner doors which he could not

open; so he also had to go home and leave his sister with the _bonga_.

 

The girl was not unhappy as the wife of the _bonga_ and after a time

she proposed to him they should go and pay a visit to her parents. So

the next day they took some cakes and dried rice and set off; they were

welcomed right warmly and pressed to stay the night. In the course of

the afternoon the girl's mother chanced to look at the provisions which

they had brought with them; and was surprised to see that in place of

cakes was dried cowdung and instead of rice, leaves of the _meral_

tree. The mother called her daughter in to look but the girl could

give no explanation; all she knew was that she had put up cakes and

dried rice at starting. Her father told them all to keep quiet about

the matter lest there should be any unpleasantness and the _bonga_

decline to come and visit them again.

 

Now the girl's brother had become great friends with his _bonga_

brother-in-law and it was only natural that when the _bonga_ and his

wife set off home the next morning he should offer to accompany them

part of the way. Off they started, the girl in front, then the _bonga_

and then her brother; now the brother had hidden an axe under his cloth

and as they were passing through some jungle he suddenly attacked the

_bonga_ from behind and cut off his head. Then he called to his sister

that he had killed the _bonga_ and bade her come back with him; so the

two turned back and as they looked round this saw that the _bonga's_

head was coming rolling after them. At this they started to run and ran

as hard as they could until they got to the house and all the way the

head came rolling after until it rolled right into the house. There

was a fire burning on the hearth and they plucked up courage to take

the head and throw it into the fire where it was burnt to ashes. That

was the end of the _bonga_ but eight or nine days later the girl's

head began to ache and in spite of all medicines they applied it got

worse and worse until in a short time she died. Then they knew that

the _bonga_ had taken her away and had not given her up.

 

CLV. (The Bonga's Victim.)

 

Once upon a time there were seven brothers and they had one

sister. Every day they used to go out hunting leaving their wives

and sister at home. One very hot day they had been hunting since dawn

and began to feel very thirsty; so they searched for water but could

find none. Then one of them climbed a tree and from its summit saw a

beautiful pool of water close by: so he came down and they all went in

the direction in which he had seen the water; but they could not find

it anywhere; so another of the brothers climbed a tree and he called

out that he could see the pool close by, but when he came down and led

them in what he thought was the right direction he was equally unable

to find the water; and so it went on; whenever they climbed a tree

they could see the water close by, but when on the ground they could

not find it; and all the time they were suffering tortures from thirst.

 

Then they saw that some _bonga_ was deluding them and that they must

offer some sacrifice to appease him.

 

At first they proposed to devote one of their wives to the _bonga_;

but not one of the brothers was willing that his wife should be the

victim; and they had no children to offer so at last they decided to

dedicate their only sister as the sacrifice. Then they prayed "Ye who

are keeping the water from us, listen; we dedicate to you our only

sister; show us where the water is." No sooner had they said this

than they saw a pool of water close beside them and hastened to it

and quenched their thirst. Then they rested and began to discuss how

they should sacrifice their sister; and at last they decided that

as they had devoted her to the _bonga_ because they wanted water,

it would be best to cast her into the water; and they planned to go

and work one day near a pond of theirs and make their sister bring

their breakfast out to them and then drown her.

 

So they went home and two or three days later the eldest brother

said that the time had come for the sacrifice; but the two youngest

loved their sister very much and begged for a little delay. Out of

pity the others agreed; but almost at once one of the brothers fell

ill and was like to die. Medicines were tried but had no effect;

then they called in an _ojha_ and he told them that the _bonga_ to

whom they had made the vow while out hunting had caused the illness

and that if they did not fulfil the vow their brother would die. Then

they all went to the sick man's bedside and poured out water on the

ground and swore that they would fulfil their vow; no sooner had they

done so than the sick man was restored to health.

 

So the very next day they arranged to go and level the field near

their pond and they told their wives to send their sister to them with

their breakfast. When the time came the girl took out their breakfast

and put it down by them and they sent her to draw water for them from

the pond but when she put her water pot down to the surface it would

not sink so as to let the water run in. The girl called out to her

brothers that the pot would not fill; they told her to go a little

further into the water; so she went in till the water was up to her

thighs but still the pot would not fill: then they called to her

to go in further and she went in waist deep but still it would not

fill; then she went in up to her neck and still it would not fill;

then she went in a little further and the water closed over her and

she was drowned. At this sight the brothers threw away the food which

she had brought and hastened home.

 

Some days later the body rose and floated to the bank and at the place

where it lay a bamboo sprang up and grew and flourished. One day a

Dome went to cut it down to make a flute of; as he raised his axe

the voice of the girl spoke from within the bamboo "O Dome, do not

cut high up; cut low down." The Dome looked about but could not see

who it was who spoke; however he obeyed the voice and cut the bamboo

close to the ground and made a flute of it. The sound of the flute

was surpassingly sweet and the Dome used to play on it every day. One

day he was playing on it at a friend's house and a Santal heard it

and was so taken by its sweet tone that he came at night and stole it.

 

Having got possession of it he used to play on it constantly and

always keep it by him. Every night the flute became a woman and the

Santal found her in his house without knowing where she came from and

used to spend the night talking to her but towards morning she used

to go outside the house on some pretext and disappear. But one night

as she was about to depart the Santal seized her and forced her to

stay with him. Then she retained her human form but the flute was

never seen afterwards; so they called the girl the Flute girl and

she and the Santal were betrothed and soon afterwards married.

 

 

CLVI. (Baijal and the Bonga.)

 

Once upon a time there was a young man named Baijal and he was

very skilful at playing on the bamboo flute. He played so sweetly

that a _bonga_ girl who heard him fell deeply in love with him and

one day when Baijal was alone in the jungle she took the form of a

pretty girl and pretended that she