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

hours later he died. CLXXXI. (The Two Witches.)

 

There were once a woman and her daughter-in-law who were both

witches. One night during the annual Sohrai festival the men of the

village were going from house to house singing and getting rice beer

to drink; and one young man named Chandrai got so drunk that when they

came to the house where the two witch-women lived he rolled himself

under the shelf on which rice was stored and fell asleep. Next morning

he came to his senses but he did not like to come out and show himself

for fear of ridicule so he made up his mind to wait till a party came

round singing again and then to slip out with them unperceived.

 

He lay waiting and presently all the men of the house went away to

join in the _danka_ dance; leaving the mistress of the house and

her daughter-in-law alone. Presently, the two began to talk and the

elder woman said "Well what with the pigs and the goats that have been

sacrificed during this Sohrai we have had plenty of meat to eat lately

and yet I don't feel as if I had had any." "That is so," answered her

daughter-in-law; "fowls' and pig's flesh is very unsatisfying." "Then

what are we to do?" rejoined the old woman, "I don't know unless you

do for the father of your grandchild." When he heard this Chandrai

shivered with fright and hid himself further under the rice shelf,

for he saw that the two women must be witches.

 

That day was the day on which a bullock is tied to a post outside each

house and at noon the husband of the younger witch began to dig a hole

outside the house to receive the post. While he was working Chandrai

heard the two women begin to talk again. "Now is your opportunity,"

said the younger woman, "while he is digging the hole." "But perhaps

the _ojha_ will be able to discover us," objected the other. "Oh

we can prevent that by making the _ojha_ see in the oiled leaf the

faces of Rupi and Bindi--naming two girls of the village--and we can

say that my husband had seduced them and then declined to marry them

and that that was why they killed him." The old woman seemed to be

satisfied, for she took up a hatchet and went out to where her son

was digging the hole. She waited till he bent down to throw out the

earth with his hands and then cut open his back and pulled out his

liver and heart and brought them into the house. Her unfortunate son

felt a spasm of pain when his mother struck him but he did not know

what had hurt him and there was no visible wound. The two women then

chopped up the liver and heart and cooked and ate them.

 

That night when the village youths came round to the house, singing,

Chandrai slipped out with them unperceived and hastened home. Two or

three days later the bewitched man became seriously ill; medicines

and sacrifices did him no good; the _ojhas_ were called in but could

make nothing of the illness. The villagers were very angry with them

for the failure and the headman told them that they must ascertain

by means of the oiled leaf who had caused the illness, or it would

be the worse for them. So the _ojhas_ went through their ceremonies

and after a time declared that the oiled leaf showed the faces of

the two girls Rupi and Bindi; and that it was they who were eating

up the sick man. So the two girls were sent for and questioned but

they solemnly swore that they knew nothing about the matter. No one

believed their protestations and the headman ordered that filth should

be put into their mouths and that they should be well beaten to make

them confess. However before any harm was done them Chandrai sprang

up and called out to the headman: "You have proof that these girls

are witches, but I will not let you beat them here. Let us take them

to yonder open field; the token of their oath is there and we will

make them first remove it. If we beat them first they will probably

refuse to remove the oath." "How do you know about their oath?" asked

the headman. "Never mind, I do know." The villagers were convinced by

his confident manner and all went with the two girls to the open field.

 

Chandrai's object was to get away from the witches' house for he was

afraid to speak there; but when they were out in the open he stood up

and told the villagers all that he had seen and heard the two witches

do; they remembered that he had been missing for a whole day during

the Sohrai festival and believed him. So the sick man's wife and

mother were fetched and well beaten to make them restore the sick

man to health; but his liver and heart had been eaten so that the

case was hopeless and in a few days he was dead. His relations in

revenge soon killed the two witches.

 

Rupi and Bindi whose lives had been saved by Chandrai went and

established themselves in his house, for they declared that as they

owed their lives to him it was plain that he must marry them.

 

CLXXXII. (The Sister-in-Law Who Was a Witch.)

 

There were once two brothers who lived together; the elder was married

but the younger had no wife. The elder brother used to cultivate

their lands and his wife used to draw water and fetch fuel and the

younger brother used to take the cattle out to graze. One year when

the elder brother was busy in the fields the younger one used to take

his cattle to graze near where his brother was working and the wife

used to bring out the breakfast for both of them. One day the younger

brother thought he would play a trick on his sister-in-law by not

answering when she called him to his breakfast; so when her husband

had finished his meal and she called out for the younger brother to

come he gave no answer; she concluded that the cattle were straying

and would not let him come so she took up her basket and went to

look for him; but when he saw her coming he climbed up a tree and

hid himself and for all her calling gave no answer, but only sat and

laughed at her although she came quite close to where he was.

 

At last the woman got into a passion and putting down the breakfast

by the side of a pool which was close to the tree up which her

brother-in-law had climbed she stripped off her clothes and began

bowing down and calling. "Ho, Dharmal Chandi! come forth !" When he

saw this the man was amazed and waited to see whom she was calling,

meaning to let her know he was there directly she turned to go away

home with the breakfast. But the woman kept on calling to Dharmal

Chandi and at last out of the pool appeared an immense bearded _bonga_

with long and matted hair. When the woman saw him her tongue flickered

in and out like a snake's and she made a hissing noise, such as a crab

makes. Then the woman began "Dharmal Chandi I have a request which

you must promise to grant." And when the _bonga_ had promised she

proceeded. "You must have my brother-in-law killed by a tiger the day

after to-morrow; he has put me to endless trouble making me go shouting

after him all through the jungle; I wanted to go back quickly because

I have a lot of work at home; he has wasted my time by not answering;

so the day after to-morrow you must have him killed." The _bonga_

promised to do what she asked and disappeared into the pool and the

woman went home.

 

While the younger brother was up in the tree his cattle had got into a

_gundli_ field and eaten up the crop: and the owner found it out and

got the brothers fined. So that evening the elder brother asked him

where he had been that he had not looked after the cattle properly

nor eaten any breakfast. In answer the younger brother only began to

cry; at that his sister-in-law said. "Let him alone; he is crying for

want of a wife; he is going silly because we have not married him;"

and so nothing more was said. But the elder brother was not satisfied

and the next day when they went together to work he asked the younger

what was the real reason for his crying.

 

Then the younger answered. "Brother, I am in great trouble; it makes

me cry all day; if you wish ever to look on my face again, you must

not work in the fields to-morrow but keep me company while I tend

the cattle; if we are separated for a moment a tiger will kill me;

it will be quickly over for me but you I know will miss me much and

so I am grieving for you; if you have any tenderness for me do not

leave me to-morrow but save me from the tiger." His brother asked the

reason for this foreboding but the younger man said that he would

explain nothing and accuse no one until the events of the next day

had shown whether he was speaking the truth; if a tiger really came

to stalk him then that would be proof that he had had good reason

for his apprehension; and he begged his brother not to speak a word

about it to anyone and especially not to his wife.

 

The elder brother promised to keep the matter a secret and cheered his

brother up and told him to be of good heart; they would take their bows

and axes and he would like to see the tiger that would touch them. So

the next morning the two brothers went off together well armed and

tended the cattle in company; nothing happened and at midday they

brought the cattle home; when the woman saw them with bows in their

hands she asked where they had been. Her husband told her that he had

been to look for a hare which he had seen on the previous day but he

had not been able to find it. Then his brother said that he had seen

a hare in its form that very morning but had not had time to shoot

So they pretended to arrange to go and hunt this hare and after

having eaten their rice they drove out the cattle again.

 

As they went along they kept close together with their arrows on the

string, so that the tiger which came to stalk the younger brother got

no opportunity to attack; at last it showed itself at the edge of the

jungle; the cattle were thrown into a turmoil and the brothers saw

that it was really following them; and the elder brother was convinced

that there was some reason for his brother's fears. So they turned

the cattle back