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

not marry

any one but the Belbati Princess. His sisters-in-law laughed very much

at the idea that he would marry a princess and worried him so much that

at length he decided to set out in search of the Belbati princess. So

one day he started off and after some time came to a jungle in which

was sitting a holy _muni_. Lita went to him and asked if he knew

where he would find the Belbati-princess. The _muni_ said that he did

not know but that a day's journey farther on was another _muni_ who

might be able to tell him. So Lita travelled on for a day and found

another _muni_ who was in the midst of performing a three month's

spell of fasting and meditation. Lita had to wait till the _muni_

returned to thoughts of this world and then made his enquiry. The

_muni_ said that he did not know but that three days' journey farther

on was another _muni_ who might be able to help him. So Lita went

on and found the third _muni_ who was in the midst of a six months'

fast. When this _muni_ came to himself and heard what Lita wanted he

said that he would be very glad to help him. The Belbati princess

was at the time imprisoned in the biggest _bel_ fruit growing on a

_bel_ tree which was guarded by Rakshasas. If he went and plucked

this fruit he would secure the princess, but if he took any but the

biggest fruit he would be ruined.

 

Lita promised to bear this in mind and then the _muni_ changed him

into a _biti_ bird and told him the direction in which to fly. Lita

flew off and soon came to the tree, which was covered with fruit;

he was very frightened when he saw the Rakshasas there, so in a great

hurry he went and bit off the first fruit that he came to; but this

was not the biggest on the tree and the Rakshasas immediately fell

upon him and ate him up. The _muni_, when Lita did not come back,

knew that something must have happened to him so he sent a crow to

see what was the matter. The crow came back and said that one _bel_

fruit had been picked but that he could not see Lita. Then the _muni_

sent the crow to bring him the droppings of the Rakshasas. The crow

did so and from the droppings the _muni_ restored Lita to life. The

_muni_ reproved Lita for his failure and told him that if he wished

to make a second attempt he must remember his behest to pick only the

biggest _bel_ fruit. Lita promised and the _muni_ turned him into a

parroquet. In this form Lita again flew to the _bel_ tree and picked

the biggest fruit on the tree. When the Rakshasas saw the parrot

making off with the fruit they pursued him in fury; but the _muni_

turned the parrot into a fly so small that the Rakshasas could not

see it, so they had to give up the chase.

 

When they had departed Lita recovered his own form and went to the

_muni_ with the _bel_ fruit and asked what more was to be done in order

to find the princess. The _muni_ said that the princess was inside the

fruit; that Lita was to take it to a certain well and very gently break

it open against the edge of the well. Lita hurried off to the well and

in his anxiety to see the princess he knocked the fruit with all his

force and split it suddenly in two. The result of this was that the

princess burst out of the fruit in such a blaze of light that Lita

fell down dead. When the princess saw that her brightness had killed

her lover she was very distressed and taking his body on her lap she

wept over him. While she was doing so a girl of the Kamar caste came by

and asked what was the matter. The princess said: "My lover is dead,

if you will draw water from the well I will revive him by giving

him to drink," but the Kamar girl at once formed a wicked plan. She

said that she could not reach the water in the well. Then said the

princess: "Do you hold this dead body while I draw the water." "No,"

said the Kamar girl, "I see you mean to run away leaving me with

the dead body and I shall get into trouble." Then said the princess:

"If you do not believe me take off my fine clothes and keep them as

a pledge." Then the princess let the Kamar girl take off all her

jewellery and her beautiful dress and went to draw water from the

well. But the Kamar girl followed her and as the princess leant over

the edge she pushed her in, so that she was drowned. Then the Kamar

girl drew water from the well and went back to Lita and poured some

into his mouth, and directly the water touched his lips he came back

to life, and as the Kamar girl had put on the dress and jewellery of

the Belbati princess he thought that she was the bride for whom he

had sought. So he took her home to his brothers' house and married her.

 

After a time Lita and his brothers went to hunt in the jungle;

it was very hot and Lita grew very thirsty; he found himself near

the well at which he had broken the _bel_ fruit and went to it for

water. Looking down he saw floating on the water a beautiful flower;

he was so pleased with it that he picked it and took it home to his

Kamar wife; but when she saw it she was very displeased and cut it up

into pieces and threw the pieces out of the house. Lita was sorry and

noticed shortly afterwards that at the place where the pieces of the

flower had been thrown a small _bel_ tree was sprouting. He had this

planted in his garden and carefully watered. It grew well and after

a time it produced ripe fruit. One day Lita ordered his horse, and

as it was being brought it broke loose and run away into the garden:

as it ran under the _bel_ tree one of the _bel_ fruits fell on to the

saddle and stayed there. When the syce caught the horse he saw this

and took the fruit home with him. When he went to cut open the fruit he

found inside it a beautiful woman; he kept the woman in his house. At

this time the Kamar woman fell ill and was like to die. Lita was very

distressed at the thought of losing his Belbati princess. At last the

Kamarin said that she was being bewitched by the girl who was living

in the syce's house and that one or other of them must die. Lita at

once ordered the girl to be taken into the jungle and killed. Four

Ghasis took her away and put her to death. Her last request to them

was that they should cut off her hands and feet and put them at the

four sides of her grave. This they did. After the death of the girl

the Kamar wife recovered her health.

 

After a time Lita again went hunting and at nightfall came to the

place where the girl had been put to death. There he found standing

a fine palace. He went in but the only living creatures he saw were

two birds who seemed to live there; he lay down on a bed and went to

sleep. While he slept the birds sat by him and began talking. One told

the other the story of the search for the Belbati princess and how

the Kamar girl had thrown her into the well and taken her place. When

Lita heard this he awoke and was very unhappy. The birds told him

that once a year the Belbati princess visited the palace in which

he was; her next visit would be in six months. So Lita stayed there

and at the end of the six months he hid behind the door to await the

princess. She came and as she passed through the door he caught her

by the hand, but she wrenched herself away and fled. Lita was very

depressed but the birds told him to be more careful the next time. So

he waited a year and when the princess was expected he hid himself:

the princess came and seeing no one entered the palace and went to

sleep. While she slept Lita secured her. They were married and lived

happily ever after, and the wicked Kamar girl was put to death.

 

 

 

 

(9)--The Bread Tree.

 

There once was a boy who lived with his mother and was engaged all day

in tending cattle. Every morning when he started his mother gave him

two pieces of bread called "hunger bread" and "stuffing bread,"--one to

satisfy hunger with and the other to over-eat oneself on. One day the

boy could not eat all his bread and he left the piece that remained

over on a rock. When he went back the next day he was surprised to

see that from the piece of bread a tree had grown which bore loaves

of bread instead of fruit. After that the boy no longer took bread

from his mother, but lived on the fruit of his tree.

 

One day he had climbed his tree to pick a loaf when an old woman came

by with a bag over her shoulder and saying that she was very poor

begged for a piece of bread. The old woman was really a Rakshasi. The

boy was kindhearted and told her that he would throw her down a loaf,

but the old woman objected that it would get dirty if it fell on the

ground. Then he told her to hold out her cloth and he would throw it

into that: but she said that she could not see well enough to catch

the loaf: he must come down and give it to her: so the boy came down

to give her the loaf and when the Rakshasi had him on the ground,

she seized him and put him in her bag and went off with him.

 

After going some way she came to a pool of water and as she was rather

thirsty from carrying such a burden, she put down her bag and went to

drink. Opportunely some travellers came by and hearing the boy's shouts

let him out of the bag. The boy filled the bag with stones and tied

it up as before and made the best of his way home. The old Rakshasi

went off with the heavy bag and when she got to her abode told her

daughter with whom she lived that she had captured a fine dinner but

when the daughter opened the bag she found in it nothing but stones:

at this she was very angry and abused her mother: then the old woman

said that the boy had escaped on the road: so the next day she went

back to the place where the boy was tending cattle and by the same

trick she caught him and put him in her bag and this time went straight

home. She made him over to her daughter and went out to collect fire

wood with which to cook him. The boy being left alone with the daughter

began to ask how he was to be killed; she said that his head was to

be pounded in a _Dhenki_. He pretended not to understand and asked

how that was to be done. The girl not understanding such stupidity

put her head under the striker of the _Dhenki_ to show him what would

happen. Then the boy at once pounded her head in the _Dhenki_ and

killed her: he then put on her clothes and cut her body up in pieces

ready for cooking. When the old woman came back with the fire wood she

was pleased to find that her daughter, as she thought, had got every

thing ready; and the meal was soon cooked and eaten. After the old

woman had thus made a hearty meal off the remains of her own daughter

she felt sleepy and took a nap. While she slept the boy struck her on

the head with a large stone and killed her; thus he saved his life and

took all the property of the old Rakshasi and lived happily ever after.

 

 

 

 

 

(10)--The Origin of _Sabai_ Grass (Ischaemum Angustifolium).

 

Once upon a time there were six brothers who lived with their

sister. The brothers used to spend their days in