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

daughter was born to her. Years passed away and the woman

forgot all about the snake and her oath. One day she went to the river

to fetch water and the snake came out of the stream and said to her:

"Woman, where is the wife whom you promised to me?" The woman then

remembered her oath and going back to her house she returned to the

river with her daughter. When the girl came to the bank of the river

the snake seized her and drew her underneath the water and her mother

saw her no more. The girl lived with the snake at the bottom of the

river and in the course of years bore him four snake sons.

 

Afterwards the girl remembered her home and one day she went to

visit her mother. Her brothers when they came home were astonished

to see her and said: "Sister, we thought that you were drowned in

the river." She answered: "No, I was not drowned, but I am married

and have children." The brothers said: "Where is this brother-in-law

of ours?" Their sister said: "Go to the river and call him." So they

went to the river and called and the snake came up out of the water

and went to their house with them. Then they welcomed the snake and

gave him great quantities of rice beer to drink. After drinking this

the snake became sleepy and coiling himself in great coils went to

sleep. Then the brothers who did not like a snake brother-in-law

took their axes and cut off the head of the snake while he slept,

and afterwards their sister lived in their house.

 

 

 

 

(2)--The Sons of the Tigress.

 

Once upon a time a cow and a tigress lived in a jungle and were great

friends, they were never separated. Now in those days tigers did not

eat flesh, but grazed like cattle, so the tigress never thought of

doing any harm to her friend the cow. The tigress had given birth

to two men children who were growing up fine and sturdy lads. One

afternoon the cow and the tigress went down to a stream to drink,

the cow went into the stream and drank and the tigress drank lower

down. The cow fouled the water of the stream and the tigress tasting

the water found it sweet and thought if the cow can make the water so

sweet how sweet the flesh of the cow must be. So on the way back from

the stream the tigress suddenly sprang on the cow and killed her and

ate her up, leaving nothing but the bones. When she got home her sons

asked her where the cow was, but the tigress said that she did not know

and that the cow must have deserted them, but afterwards the boys found

the bones of the cow and they guessed what had happened. Then they

thought, if our mother has killed her friend the cow, she will surely

kill and eat us next. So when the tigress was asleep they killed her

with axes. Then they ran away and after going for many days through

the jungle they reached a city and they found all the people in great

distress because a tiger was devastating the kingdom and killing all

the inhabitants and no one could kill the tiger. The Raja of the city

made a a proclamation that any one who could kill the tiger should

have half the kingdom and his daughter in marriage. The two boys being

the sons of a tigress were able by their knowledge of tiger ways to

kill the tiger. So they were given half the kingdom and the elder of

them married the king's daughter and they lived happily ever after.

 

 

 

 

 

(3)--The Tiger's Marriage.

 

Once upon a time there lived a Raja who had one son and many

daughters. One day the Raja went into the jungle to cut grass. He

cut a great deal of grass and tied it up in a big bundle and then

he found that he had cut so much that it was more than he could

carry. As he was wondering what he should do a tiger came by that

way and seeing the Raja in difficulties asked what he could do

to help him. The Raja explained that he had cut a bundle of grass

which was too heavy to carry. The tiger said that he would carry the

grass if he were rewarded for it: the Raja asked him what reward he

wanted. The tiger said that he wished for one of the Raja's daughters

in marriage. The Raja reflected that he had many daughters and agreed

to the proposition. Thereupon the grass was placed on the tiger's back

and he carried it to the Raja's palace. Now the Raja was ashamed to

give his daughter openly to the tiger so he told the tiger to wait

by the water hole, and sending for one of his daughters bade her go

and fetch water; the girl went to the water hole where the tiger was

waiting and was carried off by the tiger. But the Raja's son missed

his sister and went in search of her. After searching some time he

came to a cave in the jungle and looking in he was the tiger finishing

the remains of the girl whom he had killed. Then the Raja's son ran

home as quickly as he could, and told the Raja what he had seen.

 

The next day the tiger came openly to the Raja's palace and asked to

see the Raja. He was taken to the Raja and treated politely. Then the

tiger said to the Raja: "I am sorry to say that the wife whom you gave

me has died, so you must give me another." [4] The Raja said he would

think about the matter and invited the tiger to stay at the palace. So

the tiger was given a good bed, and quickly went to sleep. In the

night the Raja's son boiled some large vessels of water and poured

the scalding water over the sleeping tiger and killed him. And in

this way the tiger died.

 

 

 

 

(4)--The Jackal and His Neighbours.

 

Once upon a time a jackal killed a kid in a village and taking it to a

little distance began to enjoy a good meal. But the crows who always

make a noise about other people's business, gathered in a tree over

his head and made a great cawing, so the villagers went to see what

was the matter and beat the jackal severely and deprived him of his

feast. On this account the jackal was very angry with the crows and

determined to be revenged.

 

Shortly afterwards a great storm came on with wind and heavy rain

and all the birds and animals were in danger of being drowned. Then

the jackal pretended to be sorry for the crows and invited them all

to come and take shelter in his house. But when the jackal had got

them safely into his house he killed and ate them all; all except

one _nilkanth_ bird which he decided to keep for his breakfast the

next day, so he tied the _nilkanth_ bird, on to his tail and went

away from that part of the country. But the _nilkanth_ bird pecked

and pecked at the jackal's tail until it not only pecked itself loose

but hurt the tail so much that it became festered and swollen.

 

As the jackal went along with his swollen tail he met a potter going to

market with earthern pots for sale. Then the jackal put on a bullying

air and said that he was a sipahi of the Raja, and one pot of those

being taken to market must be given to him; at first the potter

refused, but being frightened he in the end gave one to the jackal.

 

Into this the jackal pressed the matter which had accumulated in his

swollen tail and covered it over with leaves. Going on, the jackal met

a boy tending goats, he told the boy that he had arranged with the

boy's father to buy one of the goats in exchange for a pot of ghee,

the boy believed this and took the chatty with its contents from the

jackal and gave him a fine goat.

 

The jackal went off to his home in triumph with the goat.

 

His friends and neighbours were very jealous when they saw that he

had so fine a goat and waiting till his back was turned, they killed

and ate the goat, and then they filled the skin with stones and gravel

so that it might seem that the whole goat was still there. The jackal

found out what his neighbours had done, and he took the goat skin to

a _muchi_ and got the _muchi_ to make it into a drum. Then he went to

the banks of a deep river and began to play the drum. All the other

jackals collected round and were lost in admiration of the tone of

the drum. They wanted to know where so beautiful a drum was got, the

first jackal said that there were many drums as good at the bottom of

the river, and if they tied stones round their necks and jumped in

they would find them. So the other jackals in their anxiety to get

such drums jumped into the river and were drowned, and the jackal

was revenged on all his enemies.

 

 

 

 

(5)--The Jackal and the Tigers.

 

Once upon a time a pair of tigers lived in a jungle with their two

cubs, and every day the two tigers used to go out hunting deer and

other animals that they might bring home food for the cubs. Near the

jungle lived a jackal, and he found it very hard to get enough to live

upon; however, one day he came upon the tiger's den when the father

and mother tiger were out hunting, and there he saw the two tiger

cubs with a large piece of venison which their parents had brought

them. Then the jackal put on a swaggering air and began to abuse

the tiger cubs for having so much venison, saying: "I am the sipahi

of the Raja and the Raja has demanded venison and none can be found,

while low people like you have a fine piece like this: give it at once

or I will take it and report against you to the Raja." Then the tiger

cubs were frightened and gave up the venison and the jackal went off

gleefully and ate it. The next day the jackal came again and in the

same way took off more meat. The jackal continued taking their meal

from the tiger cubs every day till the cubs became very thin: the

father tiger determined to find out why this was, so he hid himself

in the bushes and watched: he saw the jackal come and take away the

meat from the cubs. Then he was very angry and ran after the jackal

to kill him and the jackal ran away very fast and the tiger ran after

as fast as he could: at last the jackal ran into a cleft between two

rocks and the tiger running after him stuck fast between the two

rocks and could not come out and so was starved to death. But the

jackal being smaller ran out on the other side.

 

Then the jackal went back to the tiger's den and told the tigress that

her husband had been caught by the Raja and thrown into prison for

interfering with his sipahi. The tigress and her cubs were very unhappy

at this news for they thought that they would starve. Then the jackal

comforted them and told them not to be afraid as he would stay with

them and protect them, and help them with their hunting. So the next

day they all four went hunting. They arranged that the jackal should

wait at a certain place, while the tigers beat the jungle and drove

the game towards him. The jackal had boasted about the amount of game

that he could catch and when a herd of deer broke by him he tried to

seize one but they easily escaped: then the jackal was ashamed but

in order not to be detected he lay down and pretended that he had

been suddenly taken very ill. And when the tigers came up they were

sorry for him and forgave him for catching no game. The next day it

was arranged that the tigress should be in wait and the jackal and

the two young tigers should beat: the tigress soon killed a fine

deer. When the others came up the tigers wanted to eat it at once,

but the jackal would not let them and said that they must go to a

little distance