 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Folklore of the Santal Parganas. Translated by Cecil Henry Bompis of the Indian Civil Service. LibriVox Volume 1. Preface. Recorded by Maria Cialano. The Santals are a Munda tribe, a branch of that aboriginal element which probably entered India from the northeast. At the present day, they inhabit the eastern outskirts of the Chutia Nag, Pura Plateau. Originally hunters and dwellers in the jungle, they are still but indifferent agriculturists. Like the Mundas and Hoes and other representatives of the race, they are jovial in character, fond of their rice beer, and ready to take a joke. Their social organization is very complete. Each village has its headman or manji with his assistant, the Parnik. The Jagmangi is charged with the supervision of the morals of the young men and women. The Naika is the village priest, the Godet is the village constable. Over a group of villages is the Pargana or tribal chief. The Santals are divided into exagamus sects, originally 12 in number, and their social observances are complex, e.g. while some relations treat each other with the greatest reserve between others, the utmost freedom of intercourse is allowed. Their religion is animistic. Spirits, bhangas are everywhere around them. The spirits of their ancestors, the spirit of the house, the spirit dwelling in the patch of primeval forests preserved in each village. Every hill, tree, and rock may have its spirit. These spirits are propitiated by elaborate ceremonies and sacrifices which generally terminate in dances and the drinking of rice beer. The Santal Parganas is a district 4,800 square miles in area lying about 150 miles north of Calcutta and was formed into a separate administration after the Santals had risen in rebellion in 1856. The Santals at present form about one-third of the population. The stories and legends which are here translated have been collected by the Reverend O. Bodding D.D. of the Scandinavian mission to the Santals. To be perfectly sure that neither language nor ideas should in any way be influenced by contact with a European mind, he arranged for most of them to be written out in Santali, principally by a Christian convert named Sagram Murmu. At present, living at Mahulpahari in the Santal Parganas. Santali is an agglutinative language with great regularity and complexity. But when the Santals come in contact with races, speaking an Aryan language, it is apt to become corrupted with foreign idioms. The language in which these stories has been written is beautifully pure, and the purity of language may be accepted as an index that the ideas have not been affected as is often the case by contact with Europeans. My translation, though somewhat condensed, is very literal, and the stories have perhaps thereby an added interest as showing the way in which a very primitive people look at things. The Santals are great storytellers. The old folk of the village gather the young people round them in the evening and tell them stories, and the men when watching the crops on the threshing floor will often sit up all night telling stories. There is, however, no doubt that at the present time the knowledge of these stories tends to die out. Under the peace which British rule brings, there is more intercourse between the different communities and castes. A considerable degree of assimilation takes place, and old customs and traditions tend to be obliterated. Several collections of Indian stories have been made, e.g. Stokes, Indian fairy tales, Freer, Old Dagon days, Day, Folktales of Bengal, and Knowles, Folktales of Kashmir, and it will be seen that all the stories in the present collection are by no means of pure Santal origin. Incidents which form part of the common stock of Indian folklore abound, and many of the stories professedly relate to characters of various Hindu castes. Others, again, deal with such essentially Santal beliefs as the dealings of men and bangas. The Reverend Dr. Campbell of Gobindpura published in 1891 a collection of Santal folk tales. He gathered his materials in the district of Mangbam, and many of the stories are identical with those included in the present volume. I have added as an appendix some stories which I have collected among the Hose of Singbham, a tribe closely related to the Santals, and which the Asiatic Society of Bengal has kindly permitted me to reprint here. My task has been merely one of translation. It is due solely to Mr. Bodding's influence with and intimate knowledge of the people that the stories have been committed to writing, and I have to thank him for assistance and advice throughout my work of translation. I have roughly classified the stories. In part one are stories of a general character. Part two, stories relating to animals. In part three, stories which are scarcely folklore but are anecdotes relating to Santal life. In part four, stories relating to the dealings of bangas and men. In part five are some legends and traditions and a few notes relating to tribal customs. Part six contains illustrations of the belief in witchcraft. I have had to omit a certain number of stories as unsuited for publication. See H. Bampas. End of preface. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Folklore of the Santal Parganas. Translated by Cecil Henry Bampas. Part one. Number one. Bajun and Johor. Recorded by West Winds 12. Once upon a time there were two brothers named Bajun and Johor. Bajun was married and one day his wife felt ill of fever. So, as he was going plowing, Bajun told Johor to stay at home and cook the dinner and he made him put into the pot three measures of rice. Johor stayed at home and filled the pot with water and put it on to boil. Then he went to look for rice measures. There was only one in the house and Johor thought, my brother told me to put in three measures and if I only put in one I shall get into trouble. So he went to the neighbor's house and borrowed two more measures and put them into the pot and left them to boil. At noon Bajun came back from plowing and found Johor stirring the pot and asked him whether the rice was ready. Johor made no answer. So Bajun took the spoon from him saying, let me feel how it is getting on. But when he stirred with the spoon he heard a rattling noise and when he looked into the pot he found no rice but only three wooden measures floating about. Then he turned and abused Johor for his folly. But Johor said, you yourself told me to put in three measures and I have done so. So Bajun had to set to work and cook the rice himself and got his dinner very late. Next day Bajun said to Johor, you don't know how to cook the dinner. I will stay at home today. You go to plow and take a hatchet with you and if the plow catches in a root or anything give a cut with the hatchet. So Johor went plowing and when the plow caught in anything and stopped he gave a cut with his hatchet at the legs of the bullocks. They backed and plunged with the pain and then he only chopped at them the more until he lame them both. At noon Bajun saw the bullocks come limping back and asked what was the matter with them. Oh, said Johor, that is because I cut at them as you told me. You idiot said Bajun, I meant you to give a cut at the roots in which the plow got caught, not the legs of the bullocks. How will you live if you do such silly things? You cannot plow so you must stay at home and cook the rice. I will show you this evening how it is done. So after that Johor stayed at home and cooked. Bajun's wife grew no better. So one day Bajun, before he went to the fields, told Johor to warm some water in order that his wife might wash with it. But Johor made the water boiling hot and then took it and began to pour it over his sister-in-law as she lay in her bed. She was scalded and shrieked out, don't pour it over me. But Johor only laughed and went on pouring until he had scalded her to death. Then he wrapped her up in a cloth and brought her dinner to her and offered it to her to eat. But she was dead and made no answer to him so he left it by her and went and ate his own rice. When Bajun came back and found his wife scalded to death, he was very angry and went to get an axe to kill Johor with. Whereupon Johor ran away into the jungle and Bajun pursued him with the axe. In the jungle Johor found a dead sheep and he took out its stomach and called out, Where are you brother? I have found some meat. But Bajun answered, I will not leave you till I have killed you. So Johor ran on and climbed up inside a hollow tree where Bajun could not follow. Bajun got a long stick and poked at him with it and as he poked Johor let fall the sheep's stomach. And when Bajun saw it he concluded that he had killed his brother. So he went home and burned the body of his wife and a few days later he performed the funeral ceremonies to the memory of his wife and brother. He smeared the floor of the house with cow dung and sacrificed goats and fowl. Now Johor had come back that day and climbed up on to the rafters of the house and he sat there watching all that his brother did. Bajun cooked a great basket of rice and stewed the flesh of the animals he had sacrificed and offered it to the spirits of the dead and he recited the dedication, My wife I offer this rice, this food, for your purification and so saying he scattered some rice on the ground. And he also offered to Johor saying, Johor my brother I offer this rice, this food, for your purification. And then Johor called out from the roof, well as you offer it to me I will take it. Bajun had not bargained to get any answer so he was astounded and went to ask the villagers whether their spirits made answer when sacrificed too. And the villagers told him that they had never heard of such a thing. While Bajun was away on this errand Johor took up the unguarded basket of rice and ran away with it. After going some way he sat down by the road and ate as much as he wanted. Then he sat and called out, is there anyone on the road or in the jungle who wants a feast? A gang of thieves who were on a thieving expedition heard him and went to see what he meant. He offered to let them eat the rice if they would admit him to their company. They agreed and he went on with them to steal. They broke into a rich man's house and the thieves began to collect the pots and pans. But Johor felt about in the dark and got hold of a drum and began to beat on it. This woke up the people of the house and they drove away the thieves. Then the thieves abused Johor and said that they could not let him stay with them. Very well, said he, then give me back the rice you ate. Of course they could not do this so they had to let him stay with them. Then they went to the house of a rich Hindu who had a stable full of horses and they planned to steal the horses and ride away with them. So each thief picked out a horse but Johor got hold of a tiger which had come to the back of the stable to kill one of the horses. And when the thieves mounted their horses, Johor mounted on the tiger and the tiger ran off with him towards the jungle. Johor kept on calling out, keep to the road you Hindu horse, keep to the road you Hindu horse. But it dragged him through the briars and bushes till he was dead and that was the end of Johor. End of Bejun and Johor. This is LibriVox Recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information and to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Folklore of the Santal Praganas. Translated by Cecil Henry Bampas. Part 1. Number 2. Anua and his mother. Read by West Winds 12. Once there was a young fellow named Anua who lived with his old mother and when he was out plowing his mother used to take him his breakfast. One day a jackal met her on her way to the field with her son's breakfast and told her to put down the food which she was carrying or he would knock her down and bite her. So she put it down in a fright and the jackal ate most of it and then went away. And the old woman took what was left to her son and told him nothing about what had happened. This happened several days in succession. At last one day Anua asked her why she brought so little rice and that so untidily arranged. So she told him how she was attacked every day by the jackal. Then they made a plan that the next day the mother should take the plough a field while Anua should dress up as an old woman and carry the breakfast. This they did and the jackal met Anua as usual and made him put down the breakfast basket. But while the jackal was eating Anua knocked him head over heels with his stick and the jackal got up and fled threatening and cursing Anua. Among other things the jackal as he ran away had threatened to eat Anua's malhan plants. So Anua put a fence of thorns around them and when the jackal came at night and tried to eat the pods he only got his nose pricked. Foiled in this the jackal called out, well I will eat your fouls tomorrow. But Anua the next night sat by the foul house with a sickle and when the jackal came and poked his head in Anua gave him a wrap on the stout with the sickle. So the jackal made off crying, well Anua your fouls have pecked me on the head you shall die. So the next day Anua pretended to be dead and his mother went about crying. She took her way to the jungle and there she met the jackal and she told him that Anua had died in consequence of his curse. And she invited him to the funeral feast saying that he used to eat the rice which she had cooked and he had become like a son to her. The jackal gladly promised to attend and he collected a number of his friends and at evening they went to Anua's house and sat down in the courtyard. Then the old woman came out and began to bewail her son but the jackal said, stop crying Granny you cannot get back the dead let us get on to the feast. So she said that she would fry some cakes first as it would take some time before the rice was ready. The jackals approved of this but they asked her to tie them up with a rope first lest they should get to fighting over the food. So the old woman brought a thick rope and tied them all up and tightest of all she tied up the jackal which had cursed Anua. Then she went inside and put an iron pan on the fire and from time to time she sprinkled water on it. And when the jackals heard the water hissing they thought that it was the cakes frying and jumped about with joy. Suddenly Anua came out with a thick stick and set it to beating the jackals till they bit through the ropes and ran away howling. But the first jackal was tied so tightly that he could not escape and Anua beat him till he was senseless and lay without moving all night. The next morning Anua took the jackal and tied him to a stake near the place where the village women drew water and he put a thick stick beside it and every woman who went for water would give the jackal one blow with the stick. After a few days beating the body of the jackal became all swollen and one night some other jackals came there and asked him what he ate that he had got so fat and he said that everyone who came to draw water gave him a handful of rice and that that was why he was so fat and if they did not believe him they could take his place and try for themselves. So one jackal agreed to try and untied the first jackal and let himself be tied in his place but in the morning five women came down and each gave him a blow with the stick till he jumped about for pain and seeing him jumping other women came and beat him till he died. End of Anua and his mother. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information and to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. Folklore of the Santal Paraganas. Translated by Cecil Henry Bompas. Part 1. Number 3. Leda and the Leopard. Read by Westwinds12. Once upon a time a boy named Leda was tending cattle with other boys at the foot of a hill. These boys in fun used to call out ho-leopard, ho-leopard and the echo used to answer from the hill, ho-leopard. Now there really was a leopard who lived in the hill and one day he was playing hide and seek with a lizard which also lived there. The lizard hid and the leopard looked everywhere for it in vain. At last the leopard sat down to rest and it chanced that he sat right on top of the lizard which was hiding in a hole. The lizard thought that the leopard meant to hurt it and in revenge bit him and fastened on to his rump so that he could not get it off. So that day when the boys came calling out ho-leopard he ran towards them to get their help but when they saw the leopard they all fled for their lives. Leda however could not run fast because he was lame and the leopard headed him off and begged him to remove the lizard. This he did after the leopard had sworn not to eat him and before they parted the leopard made him promise to tell no one that the lizard had bitten him. And said that if he told then he would be carried off and eaten. So Leda rejoined his companions and told them nothing of what had passed between him and the leopard. But that night when they had all gone to bed Leda's sister-in-law began to worry him to tell her what the leopard had said to him when it had caught him. He told her that the leopard would eat him if he told but she coaxed him and said that no one could hear them inside the house. So at last he told her that he had taken off a lizard which was hanging on to its rump. Then they went to sleep but the leopard was hiding in the back of the house and heard all that they said. And when they were all asleep he crept in and carried off Leda's bed with Leda in it on his head. When Leda woke up towards morning he found himself being carried through dense jungle and he quietly pulled himself up into one of the trees which overhung the path. Thus when the leopard put down the bed and was going to eat Leda he found it empty. So he went back on his track and by and by came to the tree in which Leda was hiding. The leopard begged Leda to come down as he had something to say to him and promised not to eat him but directly Leda reached the ground. The leopard said now I am going to eat you. Leda was powerless so he only asked to be allowed to have one chew of tobacco before he died. The leopard assented and Leda felt in his cloth for his tobacco. But the tobacco did not come out easily and as Leda felt about for it the dried tobacco leaves crackled. The leopard asked what the crackling sound was and Leda said that is the lizard which bit you yesterday. Then the leopard got into a terrible fright and ran away as hard as he could calling out don't let it loose don't let it loose. So Leda was saved from the leopard but he did not know his way out of the jungle. He wandered about till he came to the place where the wild buffalo used to sleep at night. And he swept up the place and made it clean and then took refuge in a hollow tree. He stayed there some days sweeping up the place daily and supporting himself on the fruit of a fig tree. At last one day the buffaloes left one cow behind to watch and see who it was who swept up their sleeping place. The cow pretended to be too ill to rise and Leda after watching for some time came out and swept the ground as usual. And then tried to pull the sick cow up by the tail. But she would not move so he went back to his hollow tree. When the buffaloes returned they heard that it was a kind hearted man who cleaned their sleeping place. So they called Leda out and said that they would keep him as their servant to clean their sleeping place and to scrub them when they bathed in the river. They made him taste the milk of all the cows and appointed the cow whose milk he liked the best to supply him. Hence forward he used to wander about with the buffalo and he made a flute and used to play on it. One day after scrubbing the buffaloes he washed his head in the river and some of his hairs came out. So he wrapped them up in a leaf and set the packet to float down the stream. Lower down the stream two princesses were bathing with their attendants and when they saw the packet they tried. Who could fish it out and it was the younger princess who caught it. Then they measured the hairs and found them twelve cubits long. The princess who had taken the packet from the water went home and took to her bed and said that she would not eat until a man was found to whom the hairs belonged. Her father, the Raja, sent messengers in all directions to search for the man but they could not find him. Then he sent a parrot and the parrot flew up high and looking down so later with the buffaloes in the forest but it did not dare to go near. So the parrot returned and told the Raja that the man was in the forest but that no messenger could approach for fear of the wild buffaloes. However a crow said, I can bring him if anyone can. So they sent the crow and it went and perched on the backs of the buffaloes and began to peck them. Then later threw stones at it but it would not go away. Then he threw a stick at it and last of all he threw his flute. The crow caught up the flute and flew up to a tree with it. Later ran after it but the crow kept flying on a short distance and later still pursued until he came to the Raja's city. The crow flew on until it entered the room where the princess lay and dropped the flute into the hands of the princess. Later followed right into the room and they shut him in and the princess gave him his flute after he had promised to marry her. So he stayed there a long time but meanwhile the buffaloes all got weak and ill for want of someone to look after them. One day Leda set off to the jungle with his wife to see them and when he saw how ill the buffaloes were he decided to build a house in the jungle and live there. And the Raja sent them money and horses and cattle and elephants and servants and they built a palace and Leda subdued all the jungle and became a great Raja. And he made a highway to his father-in-law's home and used to go to and fro on it. End of Leda and the Leopard. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. Folklore of the Santal Paganis. Translated by Cecil Henry Bompis. Part 1. 4. The Cruel Stepmother. Recorded by Victoria Grace. There was once a Raja whose wife died leaving him with one young child. He reared it with great care and when it could tattle about it took a great fancy to a cat. The child was always playing with it and caring it about. All his friends begged the Raja to marry again but he said that he was sure that a stepmother would be cruel to his child. At last they persuaded him to promise to marry again if a bride could be found who would promise to care for the child as her own. So his friends looked out for a bride. But though they found plenty of girls who were anxious to marry the Raja, not one would promise to care for his child as her own. There was a young widow in a certain village who heard of what was going on and one day she asked whether a bride had been found for the Raja and she was told that no one was willing to take charge of the child. Why don't they agree? said she. I would agree fast enough. If I were Rani I should have nothing to do but look after the child and I would care for it more than its own mother could. This came to the ears of the Raja and he sent for the widow and was pleased with her looks and when she promised to love his child as her own he married her. At first no one could be kinder to the child than she was. But in the course of time she had a child of her own and then she began to be jealous of the older child and she thought daily as she could get rid of him. He was still devoted to his cat and one day when he came back to the house he asked a stepmother where the cat was. She answered angrily, The cat has bewitched the boy. It is cat. Cat. All day long. At this the child began to cry so she found the cat and threw it to him saying, Here is your cat. You are mad about your cat. But the boy hugged it in his arms and kept on crying at his stepmother's cross words. As he would not keep quiet his stepmother got more angry still and catching hold of the cat she scratched her own arms and legs with the cat's claws until the blood flowed. Then she began to cry and scold and when the neighbors came to see what was the matter she told them that the boy had let his cat scratch her and the neighbors saw that she was not loving the boy as she promised. Presently the rajah came in and asked what was the matter. She turned and scolded him saying, You have reared the accursed cat and it has scratched me finally. Look it has taken all the skin off. This is the way the boy repays me for all my trouble. I will not stay with you. If I stay the boy would injure me like this again. The rajah said, Don't cry like a baby. How can a simple child like that no better? When he grows up I will scold him. But the woman persisted and declared that she would go away with her own child unless the rajah promised to kill his elder son. The rajah refused to do this so the Rani took up her baby and went out of the house with it in a rage. Now the rajah was deeply in love with her and he followed and stopped her and said that he could not let her take away his younger child. She answered, Why trouble about the child? It is mine. I have left you, your boy. If you don't kill him when he grows up he will tell you some lie about me and make you have me beaten to death. At last the rajah said, Will come back and if the boy does you any harm I will kill him. But the Rani said, Either kill him now or let me go. So at last the rajah promised and brought her back to the palace. Then the rajah called the boy and gave him his dinner and told them that they were going on a visit to his uncles and the child was delighted and fetched his shoes and umbrella. And off they said and a dog came running after them. When they came to a jungle the rajah told his son to sit under a tree and wait for him and he went away and killed the dog that had followed them and smeared the blood on his axe and went home leaving the child. When his father did not return the child began to cry and Thakur heard him and came down and to frighten the boy and make him leave the jungle he came in the guise of a leopard but the child would not move from where he was. Then Thakur appeared as a bear and as a snake and an elephant and in many other forms but the child would not move. So at last Thakur took the form of an old woman who lifted him in her arms and soothed him and carried him to the edge of the jungle and left him on the outskirts of a village. In the morning a rich Brahmin found him and took him home and as no one claimed the child he brought him up and made him his goat herd and they gave him the name of Leela. The Brahmin's sons and daughters used to go to school and before he took his goats out to graze Leela used to carry their books to the school. And going to the school every day Leela got to know one or two letters and used to draw them in the sand while minding his goats. Later he got the children to give him an old book saying that he wanted to pretend to the other boys that he could read and out of this book he taught himself to read. And as he grew up he became quite a scholar. One day he picked up a letter and found that it was from one of the village girls arranging to a lope that very evening with a young man. At the appointed time Leela went to the rendezvous and hid himself in a tree. Soon he saw the Brahmin's daughter come to the place but as her letter had not been delivered her lover did not appear. The girl got tired of waiting and then she began to call to her lover thinking that perhaps he was hiding for a joke. When she called Leela answered from the tree and she thought that it was her lover and said, come down and let this be off. So Leela came down and they started off together. When day dawned she saw that it was Leela who was with her and she sat down and operated him for deceiving her. Leela said that they had met by chance. He had not enticed her away. No harm had been done and she could go home if she liked or come away with him if she liked. The girl considered but she saw that if she went home now she would be disgraced and her family would be outcasted. So in the end she agreed to run away with Leela. They went on and after travelling some days they came to a great city where they took up their quarters in a tumble-down house and the next morning Leela went into the city to look for work. He went to the country and enrolled himself as a Mukhtir, attorney, and soon the litigants and the magistrates found out how clever he was and he acquired a big practice. One day the Rajah said, this fellow is very handsome. I wonder what his wife is like. And he sent an old woman to see. So the old woman went and got into conversation with Leela's wife and returned to the Rajah and told him that none of his wives was so beautiful as Leela's wife. So the Rajah determined to go and see her himself. And as the old woman said that she would hide herself in the house if she saw the Rajah coming he disguised himself as a poor man and went and saw her. He found that the old woman had not exaggerated and he determined to possess himself of Leela's wife. He had first to get Leela out of the way. So he sent for him and said, you are a fine fellow and have given me satisfaction. I have one more commission for you. If you perform it I will give you half my kingdom and my sister in marriage. Leela said that he must hear what it was before he made any promise. The Rajah said, it is this, in a certain mountain grows the Chanmoni Kusum flower. Bring it to me and I will give you what I have promised. But the Rajah felt sure that if Leela went to the mountain he would be eaten by the raqas, ogres who dwelt there. Leela said that he would go if the Rajah gave him a written bond in the presence of witnesses. And this the Rajah willingly did. Then Leela went and told his wife and she said, this is excellent. I have a younger sister in the mountain. Her name is Chanmoni. And it was she who planted the Chanmoni Kusum flower. When you get there, call her by her name and she will certainly give you the flower. So Leela started off and when he was gone his wife fell ill and her body became a mass of sores. Directly Leela was out of the way. The Rajah sent the old woman to see what his wife was doing and she brought back word that she was afflicted with illness. So the Rajah sent medicines and told the old woman to nurse her. Leela went off and came to the cave in the mountain where Chanmoni lived with the raqas. And the raqas was away hunting men. So Leela called out Chanmoni and told her who he was and begged her to hide him. Then they planned how they should kill the raqas. And she hid him in the cave. Presently the raqas returned and said to Chanmoni, I smell a man. Where is he? But Chanmoni said there was no one there but herself. And that the smell was probably due to the raqas having been eating human flesh and recommended her to anoint herself with hot ghee. The raqas agreed. So Chanmoni put a great iron pan of ghee on to boil and when it was boiling she called the raqas and as the raqas was leaning over the pan Leela ran out and pushed her into the boiling ghee and she died. Then Chanmoni asked Leela why he had come and he told her to fetch the flour. She promised to give it to him but asked what was to become of her now that the ogres with whom she lived was dead. Leela promised to take her with him. So they cut off the tongue and ears and claws of the raqas and returned to the city. And directly Leela returned his first wife recovered from her illness. Then the raqas saw that it was useless to contend with Leela and he gave him half his kingdom and married him to his sister according to his bond. So Leela lived with his three ranis and they bore him children and after some years he told them that he was the son of a raqa and he wished to visit his own country and see whether his father was alive. So they set out in great style with horses and elephants and came to the town where Leela's father lived. Now five or six days after abandoning Leela his father had become blind and he made over the management of his kingdom to a Dewan and the Dewan and the Rani managed everything. When the Dewan heard that Leela had come with a great force he thought that he would loot the country and he ran away in fear. Then Leela sent word to his father to come to him as he was the son who had been abandoned in the jungle. So the Raja set forth joyfully and after he had gone a few paces he began to see dimly and by the time that he came to Leela's camp he had quite recovered his eyesight. When they met father and son embraced and wept over each other and Leela ordered a feast to be prepared and while this was being done a maid servant came running to say that the wicked Rani had hanged herself. So they went and burned the body and then returned and enjoyed the feast. Then the Raja resigned his kingdom to Leela and the riots begged him to stay and rule over them. So he remained there and lived happily ever after. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. Folklore of the Santal Paragonis. Translated by Cecil Henry Bompas. Part 1, Number 5. Karmu and Darmu. Recorded by Kirk Thomas in Atlanta, Georgia. There were once two brothers, Karmu and Darmu. Karmu was a farmer and Darmu was a trader. Once when Darmu was away from home Karmu gave a religious feast and did not invite Darmu's household. When Darmu returned and learned this he told his wife that he also would perform the ceremonies in his house. So they set to work and were employed in cooking rice and vegetables far into the night. And Karam Gosain came down to see what preparations Darmu was making in his honor and he watched from the back of the house. Just then Darmu strained off the water from the cooked rice and threw it out of the window and it fell on Karam Gosain and scalded him. And as the flies and insects worried the wound Karam Gosain went off to the Ganges and buried himself in the middle of the stream. As he had thus offended Karam Gosain all Darmu's undertakings failed and he fell into deep poverty and had not even enough to eat so he had to take service with his brother Karmu. When the time for transplanting the rice came Darmu used to plow and dig the ditches and mend the gaps along with the day laborers. Karam Gosain told him not to work himself but act as overseer of the other laborers and the laborers also told him that it was not suitable for him to work as a laborer himself. But Darmu said that he must earn his wages and insisted on working and in the same way Darmu's wife might have acted as overseer of the women but she was ashamed not to work too. One day they were transplanting the rice and Karmu brought out breakfast for the laborers. He told Darmu and his wife to wash their hands and come and eat. But they answered that they belonged to the household and that the hired laborers should be fed first. So the laborers ate and they ate up all the rice and there was nothing left for Darmu and his wife. When the midday meal was brought the same thing happened. Darmu and his wife got nothing. But they hoped that it would be made up to them when the wages were paid and worked on fasting. At evening when they came to pay the wages in kind Darmu's name was called out first but he told his brother to pay the laborers first. And in doing this the patty was all used up and there was nothing left for Darmu and his wife. So they went home sorrowfully and their children cried for food and they had nothing to give them. In the night Darmu's wife said they promised to pay us for merely looking after the work and instead we worked hard and have still got nothing. We will not work for them any more. Come let us undo the work we did today. You cut down the embankments you repaired and I will uproot the seedlings which I planted. So they went out into the night to do this. But whenever Darmu raised his spade a voice called out, hold, hold. And whenever his wife put out her hand to pull up the rice a voice called out, hold, hold. Then they said, who are you to stop us? And the voice answered, you have done evil and offended Karam Gosain by scalding him. This is why you have become poor and today have worked without food and without wages. He has gone to the Ganges and you must go and propitiate him. And they asked how they should propitiate him and the voice said, grind turmeric and put it on a plate and buy new cloth and diet with turmeric and make ready oil and take these things to the Ganges and call on Karam Gosain. And they believed the voice and the next day did as it commanded and set off leaving their children in charge of Karmu. On the way they came to a fig tree full of figs and they went to eat the fruit but when they got near they found that all the figs were full of grubs and they sang. Exhausted by hunger we came to a fig tree and found it full of grubs. Oh Karam Gosain, how far off are you? Then they came to a mango tree and the same thing happened. And they went on and saw a cow with a calf and they thought that they would milk the cow and drink the milk. But when they went to catch it it ran away from them and would not let itself be caught and they sang. We go to catch the cow and it runs away. We go to catch the calf and it runs away. Oh Karam Gosain, how far off are you? But the cow said to them, go to the banks of the Ganges. Then they came to a buffalo and went to milk it but it lowered its head and charged them. And Dharmu cried but his wife said don't cry and sang. If you go to catch the buffalo Dharmu it will kill you. How shall we drink milk? How shall we drink milk? How far off are you? Oh our Karam Gosain. And the buffalo said, go on to the bank of the Ganges. Then they came to a horse and they thought that they would catch it and mount it. But it kicked and snorted and they sang. Dharmu tries to catch the horse but it kicks and runs away. How shall we reach the Ganges? Oh Karam Gosain, how far off are you? And the horse said, go to the banks of the Ganges. Then they saw an elephant but it would not let them approach. So they decided to push on straight for the river. And they saw under a banyan tree a large pot full of rupees but they were so disheartened that they made no attempt to touch it. Then they met a woman who asked where they were going and when she heard she said for twelve years I have had a pie measure stuck on my throat. Ask Karam Gosain for me how I am to get rid of it. And they promised. And going on they met a woman with a bundle of thatching grass stuck to her head. And she made them promise to ask Karam Gosain how she could be freed. Then they met a woman with both her feet burning in a fire and another with a stool stuck fast to her back. And they promised to inquire how these might be delivered. So at last they came to the Ganges and they stood on the bank and called to Karam Gosain. And when he came they caught hold of him and he said, Thay, what low-caste person is touching me? But they said, it is no low-caste person but Darmu. Then they bathed him and anointed him with oil and turmeric and wrapped him in the new cloth which they had brought and thus they persuaded him to return. So they rose up to go back and Darmu asked about the women whom they had met and Karam Gosain said, The woman has a stool stuck to her back because when visitors came she never offered them a seat. Let her do so in future and she will be freed. And the woman has her feet burning in the fire because she pushed the fuel into the fire with her foot. Let her not do so in future and she will be freed. And the woman has the thatching grass stuck to her head because when she saw a friend with straw sticking in her hair she did not tell her about it. Let her do so in future and she will be freed. And the woman has the pie measure stuck to her throat because when her neighbor wanted to borrow her measure she would not lend it. Let her do so in future and she will be freed. And Karam Gosain asked whether they had seen an elephant and a horse and a buffalo and a cow and money and mangoes and figs. And Darmu said yes, but that he had not been able to catch the animals and the fruit was bad. Karam Gosain promised them that on their way back they should take possession of all. And they did so and mounted on the elephant and returned to their home with great wealth. On their way they met the four women and told them how they could be saved from their troubles. The villagers welcomed Darmu and he arranged a great feast and gave patty to all the villagers to husk. But when they had boiled it the weather became cloudy so that they could not dry it. So they prayed to the sun and he had once shown out and dried the patty. Then a day was fixed and they prepared rice beer and worshiped Karam Gosain and they danced all night and got very drunk and enjoyed themselves. End of Karamu and Darmu This recording is in the public domain. The Jealous Stepmother Recorded by Heather Lambert There was once a man whose wife died leaving him with one son and after a year he married again. The second wife was very jealous of the son and she told her husband that she would not stay with him unless he killed the boy. At first he refused but she insisted and then he said that he was frightened to do the deed but she might kill the boy herself if she liked. She said, No, he is your son and you must kill him. If he were mine I would do it. You need not be frightened when you take him out plowing make him drive the front plow and you sharpen your plow pole to a point and drive it into him from behind and kill him and then it will seem to be an accident. So the man promised and made a sharp point to his plow pole but whenever they plowed so fast that the father could not catch him up and so the boy was not killed then the woman abused her husband and said that he was deceiving her so he promised to finish the business the next day and told her to give the boy a good hot breakfast before they started so that he might receive one less kindness and he said that they must find some other way of killing him because all the plowing was finished but his wife told him that he was going to plant a crop of gondolai the bullocks would stop to eat the gondolai as they went along and so he would easily catch up to his son accordingly the next morning father and son took the plows and the boy asked where they should plow and the father said that they would plow down the field of gondolai but the boy said why should we do that it is a good crop and will be ripe in a day or two it is too late to sow again we shall lose this crop who knows whether we shall get anything in its place and the father thought what the boy says is true the first crop is like the first child if I kill him he will support me in my old age who knows whether my second wife will have children I will not kill him however angry she be so they unyucked their plows and went home he told his wife that he would not kill the boy and scolded her and ended up giving her a beating then she ran away in a passion but he did not trouble to go and look for her and in a few days her father and brothers brought her back and her husband told them what had happened and they also scolded her and told her to mend her ways End of Chapter 6 by Cecil Henry Bonpas The woman said and tell me when I shall die what a soul will go to this I ask and no more then the Jugi answered your prayer is granted but you must tell no one if you do the power will depart from you so saying he took from his bag something like a feather and brushed her eyes with it and washed them with water then the woman's eyes were opened and she saw spirits bongas, boots, dains, churns souls of dead men and the Jugi told her not to be afraid but not to speak to them lest men should think her mad then he took his leave and she returned home now in the village lived a poor man and his wife and they were much liked because they were industrious and obedient shortly afterwards this poor man died and the pious woman saw men come with a palanquin and take away the poor man's soul with great ceremony she was pleased at the sight and thought that the souls of all men were taken away like this but shortly afterwards her father-in-law died he had been a rich man but harsh and while the family were mourning the pious woman saw four sipahis armed with iron shod staves and of fierce countenance come to the house and two entered and took the father-in-law by the neck and thrust him forth they bound him and beat him they knocked him down and as he could not walk by his legs the woman followed him to the end of the garden and when she saw him being dragged away she screamed when her husband's relatives saw her screaming and crying they were angry and said that she must have killed her father-in-law by witchcraft for she did not sit by the corpse and cry but went to the end of the garden so after the body had been burnt they held the council and questioned her and told her that they would hold her to be a witch if she could not explain so she told them of the power which the Jugi had conferred on her and of what she had seen and they believed her and acquitted her of the charge of witchcraft but from that time she lost her power and saw no more spirits end of the pious woman recording by Justin Barrett January 2008 this is a LibraVox recording all LibraVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibraVox.org Folklore of the Santo Parkanis translated by Cecil Henry Bompis Part 1 8. The Wife's Daughter-in-law There was once a rich man who had seven sons but one day his wife died and after this the family fell into poverty all their property was sold and they lived by selling firewood in the bazaar at last the wife of the eldest son said to her father-in-law I have a proposal to make do you choose one of us to be head of the family whom all shall obey we cannot all be our own masters as at present the old man said well I choose you and he assembled the whole family and made them promise to obey the wife of his eldest son thereupon she told them that they must all go out into the fields and bring her whatever they found so the next day they went out in different directions and the old man found some human excrement and he thought well my daughter-in-law told me to bring whatever I found so he wrapped it up in leaves and took it home and his daughter-in-law told him that he had done well and bait him hang up the packet at the back of the house a few days later he found the slough of a snake and he took that home and his daughter-in-law told to tie a clod of earth to it and then it's being blown away and to throw it onto the roof of the house some years after the Raja of the country was ill with cancer of the face and none of the Ojas could cure him at last one Oja said that there was only one medicine which could affect a cure but he saw no chance of obtaining it and that was human excrement 12 years old then the Raja sent messengers throughout the kingdom offering a reward of 200 rupees to anyone who could supply excrement 12 years old and when a messenger came to the village where this family lived the daughter-in-law produced a packet which the old man had brought home and received the reward of 200 rupees and they were all delighted at making so much money by what the old man had brought home in jest and again it happened that the son of a Raja was bathing and he left his gold belt on the bank and a kite thought it was a snake and flew off with it the prince was much distressed at the loss but the Raja told him not to grieve as the kite must have dropped it somewhere and he would offer a reward of 1000 rupees for it now the kite had soon found that the belt was not good to eat and seeing the snake skin which the old man had thrown onto the roof of the house he dropped the belt and flew off with the skin and the daughter-in-law picked up the belt and when the criers came round offering a reward she produced it and received the money and they praised her wisdom and by this means the family became rich again end of the wise daughter-in-law Henry Bompas there was once an oilman with five sons and they were all married and lived jointly with their father but the daughters-in-law were discontented with this arrangement and urged their husbands to ask their father to divide the family property at first the old man refused but when his sons persisted he told them to bring him a log two cubits long and so thick the two hands could just span it and he said that if they could break the log in two he would divide the property so they brought the log and then asked for axes but he told them that they must break it themselves by snapping it or twisting it or standing on it so they tried and failed then the old man said you are five and I make six split the log into six so they split it and he gave each a piece and told them to break them and each easily snapped his stick then the old man said we are like the whole log we have plenty of property and are strong and can overcome attack but if we separate we shall be like the split sticks and easily broken they admitted that this was true he proposed that the property should not be divided but that they should all become separate in mess but the father would not agree to this for he thought that people would call him a miser if he let his sons live separately without his giving them their share in the property as their own so as they persisted in their folly he partitioned the property but in a few years they all fell into poverty and had not enough to eat nor clothes to wear the father and mother were no better off then the old man called all his sons and their wives and said you see what trouble you have fallen into I have a riddle for you explain it to me there are four wells, three empty and one full of water if you draw water from the full one and pour it into the three empty ones they will become full but when they are full and the first one is empty if you pour water from the three full ones into the empty one it will not be filled what does this mean? and they could not answer and he said the four wells mean that a man had three sons and while they were little he filled their stomachs as the wells were filled with water but when they separated they would not fill the old man's stomach and it was true that the sons had done nothing to help their father and they were filled with shame and they agreed that as long as their father lived they would be joined with him and they would not separate again until he died end of the oil man and his sons this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org folklore of the Santel Parkanas translated by Cecil Harry Bombas part one ten, the girl who found helpers once upon a time there were seven brothers and they were all married and they had one sister who was not married the brothers went away to a foreign country for a whole year leaving their wives at home now the wives hated their sister-in-law and did their best to torment her so one day they gave her a pot full of holes and told her to bring it back full of water and threatened that if she failed she should have no food so she took the pot to the spring and sat down and cried and sang I am fetching water in a pot full of holes I am fetching water in a pot full of holes how far away have my brothers gone to trade after she had cried a long time a number of frogs came up out of the water and asked her what was the matter and she told them that she must fill the pot with water and was not allowed to stop the holes with clay or lac then they told her not to cry and said that they would sit on the holes and then the water would not run out they did this and the girl dried her eyes and filled the pot with water and took it home her sisters-in-law were much disappointed at her success but the next day they told her to go to the jungle and to bring back a bundle of leaves but she was to use no rope for tying them up so she went to the jungle and collected the leaves and then sat down and cried and sang I am to fetch leaves without a rope I am to fetch leaves without a rope how far have my brothers gone to trade and as she cried a boogersobo snake came out and asked why she was crying and when she told it it said it would coil itself round the leaves in place of a rope so it stretched itself out straight and she piled the leaves on top and the snake coil itself tightly ran them and so she was able to carry the bundle home on her head her sisters-in-law ran to see how she managed it but she put the bundle down gently and the snake slipped away unperceived so they resolved to try again so the next day they sent her to fetch a bundle of firewood but told her that she was to use no rope to tie it with so she went to the jungle and collected the sticks and then sat down and cried I am to bring wood without tying it I am to bring wood without tying it how far have my brothers gone to trade and as she cried a python came out and asked what was the matter and when it heard it told her not to cry and said it would act as a rope to bind up the sticks so it stretched itself out and she laid the sticks on it and then it coiled itself round them and she carried the bundle home as the sisters-in-law had embaffled us they resolved on another plan and proposed they should all go and gather sticks in the jungle and on the way home they came to a matunda tree in full flower and they wanted to pick some of the flowers the wicked sisters-in-law first began to climb the tree but they pretended that they could not and kept slipping down and then they turned the tree and turned it into the branches and told her to throw down the flowers to them but while she was in the tree they tied thorns around the trunk so that she could not descend and then left her to starve after she had been in the tree a long time her brothers passed that way on their return journey and sat down under the tree to rest the girl was too weak to speak but she cried and her tears fell on the back of her eldest brother and he looked up and saw her and revived her and listened to her story and they were very angry and proud to have revenge so they gave their sisters some needles and put her in a sack and put the sack on one of the pack-bullocks and when they got home they took the sack off gently and told their wives to carry it carefully inside the house and on no account to put it down but when the wives took it up the girl inside pricked them with the needle so that they screamed and let the sack fall their husbands scolded them and made them take it up again and had to carry it in though they were pricked until the blood ran down then the brothers inquired about all that had happened in their absence and at last asked after their sister and their wives said that she had gone into the jungle with some friends to get firewood but the brothers turned to them and told them how they had found her in the maturna tree and brought her home in a sack and their wives were dumbfounded then the brothers said they had made a vow to dig a well and consecrate it so they set to work to dig a well and cross and three fathoms deep and when they reached water they fixed a day for the consecration and they told their wives to put on their best clothes and to do the kumara ceremony at the well so the wives went to the well escorted by drummers and as they stood in a row around the well each man pushed his own wife into it and then they covered the well with a wooden grating and kept them in it for a whole year and at the end of the year they pulled them out again another version of this story gives three other tasks preliminary to those given above how begins this follows once upon a time there was a girl named Hira who had seven brothers the brothers went away to a far country to trade leaving her alone in the house with their wives these seven sisters-in-law hated Hira and did what they could to torment her one day they sowed a basket full of mustard seed in the field and then told her to go and pick it all up she went into the field and began to lament singing they have sown a basket of mustard seed oh how far away have my brothers gone to trade as she cried a flak of pigeons came rustling down and asked her what was the matter and when they heard they told her to be comforted they at once set to work picking up the mustard grain by grain and putting it into her basket soon the basket was quite full and she joyfully took it home and showed it to her sisters-in-law then they set her another task and told her to bring them some bears hair into a hair-onlet for her wedding so she went off to the jungle and sat down to cry as she wept two bear cubs came up and asked her what was the matter when she told her story they bade her be of good cheer and took her into their cave and hid her presently the mother bear came back and circled her cubs and when they had finished they asked their mother to leave them some of her hair but they might amuse themselves by plotting it while she was away she did so and directly she had gone off to look for food the cubs gave the girl the hair and sent her home rejoicing the sisters-in-law were only made more angry by her success and plotted how to kill her so they ordered her to bring them some tiger's milk that they might make it into curds for her wedding then she went off to the jungle and began to weep singing I brought the hair of the bear how far away have my brothers gone to trade at the sound two tiger cubs came running up and asked what was the matter they told her to be comforted they managed to give her what she wanted they took her and hid her near where they were lying presently the tigers came back and circled her cubs and as she did so she declared that she smelt a human being but the cubs laughed at her and said that there must be they whom she smelt so she was satisfied and as she was leaving them they asked her to leave some of her milk at an earthen pot so they might have something to drink if she was long and coming back the tigers did so they gave the milk to the girl who took it home the story then continues as before end of The Girl Who Found Helpers Once upon a time there was a woman whose husband died while she was pregnant and she was very unhappy and used to pray daily to sing chando to give her a man child in place of her husband she was left well off and among her property were three gold coins and as she was afraid of these being stolen she decided to place them in the care of the village headman so she took them to him and asked him to keep them till her child was born and no one was present at the time but the headman's wife in due time her child was born and by the mercy of sing chando it was a son and when the boy had grown a bit and could run alone his mother decided to take back the gold coins so she went to the headman and asked him for them but he and his wife said we do not understand what you were talking about we know of no gold coins where are your witnesses you must have had witnesses in such a business and they drove her out she went away crying and called the villagers together and asked them to decide the matter so they questioned her and the headman but as it was word against word they could come to no decision so they settled to put the parties on oath but the headman and the woman both swore that they had spoken the truth saying may we die if we have spoken falsely then the villagers made them swear by their children and the woman and the headman laid their hands on the heads of their sons and swore and when the woman swore her son fell down dead and she took up the dead body in her arms and ran away with it the villagers were very sorry for what had happened but the headman and his wife abused them for not having believed their word the woman had not gone very far before she met a stranger who asked why she was crying and when she told him he said do not cry take your child back to the villagers and tell them that it was five gold coins and not three that you gave to the headman and if you do this the child will come to life again so the woman hastened back and found the villagers still assembled and she told them as the stranger had directed and she agreed to be sworn again on the body of the child and the headman promised to pay five gold pieces if the child were restored to life so the woman laid her hands on the dead child and swore and it was restored to life then the headman was dumbfounded and reluctantly brought out five gold pieces and gave them to the woman she gave five rupees to the villagers and they made the headman give them ten rupees for having deceived them and they bought pigs and had a feast in the course of time the boy grew up and his mother urged him to marry he asked her if she knew how to choose a wife so what sort of cattle to buy and she said that she did not know her husband had not told her this so the youth said that he would go to sing chando and ask his mother washed his clothes for him and gave him food for the journey and he set out on the way he met a man who asked him where he was going and he answered that he was going to make a petition to sing chando then said the man make a petition for me also for the much wealth that I cannot look after at all asked him to take away half for me the youth promised and went on and he met another man who said that he had so many cattle that he could not build enough cow houses for them and asked him to petition sing chando to diminish their number and he promised and went on and came to sing chando and there he asked how to choose a wife and how to buy cattle sing chando said when you buy a bullock first put your hand on its quarter and if it shrinks and tries to get free buy it and when you want a wife inquire first as to the character of her father and mother good parents make good children then the youth asked about the two men he had met sing chando said tell the first man when he is plowing to plow two or three furrows beyond the boundary of his field his wealth will diminish and tell the second man to drive away three or four of his cattle every day and their number will decrease so the youth returned and met the man who had too many cattle and told him what chando had said and the man thought if I drive away three or four head of cattle every day I shall soon become poor so from that time he looked out for any straying cattle and would drive them home with his own if the owner claimed them he gave them up and if no claimant appeared he kept them and so he became richer than ever and the youth went on and met the man who was too rich and when he heard what chando had said he thought if I plow over the boundary onto my neighbor's land it will be a great sin and I shall soon become poor and he went to his plowmen and told them never to plow right up to the edge of the field but to leave two or three furrows space and they obeyed and from that time chando became poorer than ever and the youth returned to his mother and told her all that had happened and they understood the meaning of the advice which chando had given to the two men and acted accordingly and it is true that we see that avaricious men who trespass across boundaries become poor end of how to grow rich this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information if you are a volunteer please visit LibriVox.org folklore of the Santal Parangas translated by Cecil Henry Bompas part 1 XII the changed calf recorded by Tim Bulkley bigbible.org there was once a cowherd named Sona who saved a few rupees and he wanted to buy a calf so as to have something to show for his labors and he went to a distant village and bought a bull calf and on the way home he was benighted so he turned into a Hindu village and went to an oilman's house and asked to be allowed to sleep there when the oilman saw such a fine calf he coveted it and he told Sona to put it in the stable along with his own bullock and he gave him some supper and let him sleep when the veranda but in the middle of the night the oilman got up and moistened some oil cake and plastered it over the calf then he untied his own bullock and made it lick the oil cake off the calf and as the bullock was accustomed to eat oil cake it licked it greedily then the oilman raised a cry the bullock that turns the oil mill has given birth to a calf all the villages collected and saw the bullock licking the calf and they believed the oilman Sona did not wake up and knew nothing of all this the next morning he got up and went to untie his calf and drive it away but the oilman would not let him and claimed the calf as his own then Sona called the villagers to come and decide the matter they said that they had seen him bring no calf to the village and he not called any of them to witness it but they had seen the bullock licking the calf why should the bullock lick any but its own calf no one ever saw a bullock lick a strange bullock or cow so they awarded the calf to the oilman then the Sona said that he would call someone to argue the matter and he went away meaning to get some men from the next village but he lost his way in the jungle and as he went along a nightjar flew up from under his feet he called out to it to stay as he was in great distress and the bird alighted and asked what was the matter and Sona told it his trouble then the nightjar said that it would argue the matter for him but that he must have a colleague and it told Sona to go on and ask the first living being he met to help so he went on and met a jackal the jackal agreed to help the nightjar they told him to call the villagers to the edge of the village but not to let them bring any dogs with them so Sona brought all the villagers to the jungle and the nightjar and the jackals sat side by side on the stone then Sona asked the villagers whether they would let him take away the calf or no and they persisted in their previous opinion at last one man said what are your advocates doing it seems to me that they are asleep at this the two woke up at the start and looked about them and the nightjar said I have been asleep and dreamed a dream will you men please hear it and explain its meaning I too have had a dream please explain it for me if you can explain the meaning you shall keep the calf and if not the boy shall have it the villagers told them to speak and the nightjar said I saw two nightjar's eggs and one egg was sitting on the other no mother bird was sitting on them tell me what this means and the jackal said I saw the sea was on fire and the fishes were all being burnt up and I was busy eating them I did not wake up what is the meaning of this dream and the villagers said the two dreams are both alike neither has any meaning an egg can't sit on an egg and the sea cannot catch fire the jackal said why cannot it be if you won't believe that the water can catch fire why do you say that a bullock gave birth to a calf have you ever seen such a thing speak and they admitted that they had never seen a bullock have a calf but only cows then, to the jackal explain why you were given the oilman a decree and they admitted that they were wrong and awarded the calf to Sona and find the oilman five rupees for having deceived them end of the changed calf this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org and on his cultivation just as the Kori did he might get better results so every day he made some pretext to visit the Kori's house and hear what work he was going to do the next day and with the same object he would listen outside his house at night and he exactly imitated the Kori he yoked his cattle and unyoked them he plowed and sowed and transplanted just when the Kori did and the result was good for that year he got a very fine crop but he was not content with this and resolved to continue to copy the Kori the Kori suspected what the barber was doing and did not like it so he resolved to put the matter to the test and at the same time teach the barber to mind his own business in January they both planted sugar cane and one day when the crop was half grown the barber was sitting at the Kori's house and the Kori gave orders to his servants to put the leveler over the crop the next day and break it down this was only a pretense of the Kori's but the barber went away and the next day crushed his sugar cane crop with the leveler the whole village laughed to see what he had done but it turned out that each root of the barber's sugar cane sent up a number of shoots and in the end he had a much heavier crop than the Kori another day the Kori announced that he was going to sow but pulse and therefore ordered his servants to bring out the seed and roast it well that it might germinate quickly and the barber hearing this went off and had his seed but roasted and the next day he sowed it but only a very few seeds germinated and the crop of the Kori which had not really been roasted sprouted finally the barber asked the Kori why his crop had not come up well and the Kori told him that it must be because he had not roasted the seed enough the few seeds that had come up must have been those which had been roasted most but in the end the laugh was against the Kori for the few seeds of the barber's which germinated produced such fine plants that when he came to thresh them out he had more grain than the Kori and so in three or four years the barber became the richer man of the two and of the Kori and the barber this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org folklore of the Santal Parganas translated by Cecil Henry Bompas part one number fourteen the prince who acquired wisdom there was once a Raja who had an only son and the Raja was always urging his son to learn to read and write in order that when he came to his kingdom he might manage well and be able to decide disputes that were brought to him for judgment but the boy paid no heed to his father's advice and continued to neglect his lessons at last when he was grown up the prince saw that his father was right and he resolved to acquire wisdom so he set off without telling anyone but his wife and he took with him a purse of money and three pieces of gold after traveling a long time he one day saw a man plowing in a field and he went and got some tobacco from him and asked him whether there were any wise men living in that neighborhood what do you want with wise men asked the plowman the prince said that he was traveling to get wisdom the plowman said that he would give him instruction if he were paid then the prince promised to give him one gold piece for each piece of wisdom the plowman agreed and said listen attentively the first maxim is this you are the son of a Raja whenever you go to visit a friend or one of your subjects and they offer you a bedstead a stool or mat to sit on do not sit down at once but move the stool or mat a little to one side this is one maxim give me my gold coin so the prince paid him then the plowman said the second maxim is this you are the son of a Raja whenever you go to bathe do not bathe at the common bathing place but at a place by yourself give me my coin and the prince did so then he continued my third maxim is this you are the son of a Raja when men come to you for advice or to have a dispute decided listen to what the majority of those present say and do not follow your own fancy now pay me and the prince gave him his last gold coin and said that he had no more well said the plowman your lesson is finished but still I will give you one more piece of advice free and it is this you are the son of a Raja restrain your anger if anything you see or hear makes you angry still do not at once take action hear the explanation and weigh it well then if you find cause you can give rain to your anger and if not let the vendor off after this the prince said his face homeward as he had spent all his money and he began to repent of having spent his gold pieces on advice that seemed worthless however on his way he turned into a bazaar to buy some food and the shopkeepers on all sides called out buy, buy so he went to a shop and the shopkeeper invited him to sit on a rug he was just about to do so he remembered the maxim of his instructor and pulled the rug to one side and when he did so he saw that it had been spread over the mouth of a well and that if he had sat on it he would have been killed so he began to believe in the wisdom of his teacher then he went on his way and on the road he turned aside to a tank to bathe and remembering the maxim of his teacher he did not bathe at the common place to a place apart then having eaten his lunch he continued his journey but he had not gone far when he found that he had left his purse behind so he turned back and found it lying at the place where he had put down his things when he bathed thereupon he applauded the wisdom of his teacher for if he had bathed at the common bathing place someone would have seen the person have taken it away when evening came on he turned into a village and asked the headman to let him sleep in his veranda and there was already one other traveler sleeping there and in the morning he was found that the traveler had died in his sleep then the headman consulted the villagers and they decided that there was nothing to be done but to throw away the body and that as the prince was also a traveler he should do it at first he refused to touch the corpse as he was the son of a raja but the villagers insisted and then he bethaught himself of the maxim that he should not act contrary to the general opinion so he yielded and dragged away the body and threw it into a ravine before leaving it he remembered that it was proper to remove the clothes and when he began to do so he found round the waist of the body a roll of coin he took this and was glad that he had followed the advice of his teacher that evening he reached the boundary of his own territory and decided to press on home although it was dark at midnight he reached the palace and without arousing anyone went to the door of his wife's room outside the door he saw a pair of shoes and a sword at the sight he became wild with rage and drawing the sword he called out who is in my room as a matter of fact the prince's wife had got the prince's little sister to sleep with her and when the girl heard the prince's voice she got up to leave but when she opened the door and saw the prince standing with the drawn sword she drew back in fear she told him who she was and explained that they had put the shoes and sword at the door to prevent anyone else from entering this wrath the prince would not listen and call to her to come out and be killed then she took off her cloth and showed it to him through the crack of the door and at the sight of this he was convinced then he reflected on the advice of his teacher and repented because he had nearly killed his sister through not restraining his wrath end of The Prince Who Acquired Wisdom This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org L-I-B-R-I-V-O-X-dot-O-R-G Folklore of the Santa Parganas Translated by Cecil Henry Bombas Part 1 Roman Numeral 15 The Monkey Boy Recorded by Jessica of South Carolina There was a man who had six sons and two daughters and he died leaving his wife pregnant of a ninth child and when the child was born it proved to be a monkey The villagers in relations advised the mother to make a way with it but she refused saying Chondo knows why he's giving me such a child but as he has done so I will rear it All her relations said that if she chose to rear a monkey he would turn her out of the family however she persisted that she would do so at all cost So they sent her to live with her child in a hut outside the village and the monkey boy grew up and learned to talk like a human being One day his elder brothers began to clear the jungle for a cultivation and the monkey boy took a hatchet and went with them He asked where he could clear his land for himself and in fun they showed him the place where the jungle was thickest So he went there and drove his hatchet to the tree and then returned and watched his brothers working hard clearing the scrub and when they had finished their work he went and fetched his hatchet and returned home with them Every day he did the same and one day his brother asked why he spent all his time with them and he said that he only came to them when he was tired of cutting down trees They laughed at this and said that they would like to see his clearing So he took them to the place and to their astonishment they saw a large clearing bigger than they had been able to make for themselves then the brothers burnt the jungle they had cut down and began to plow the land But the monkey boy's mother had no plow or cattle nor any seed rice The only thing in the house was a pumpkin So he took the seed out of the pumpkin and sowed it in his clearing His brothers asked what he had sown and he told them, rice The brothers plowed and sowed and used to go daily to watch the growing crop and one day they went to have a look at the monkey boy's crop and they saw that it was pumpkins and not rice and they laughed at him When their crop was ripe the brothers prepared to offer the first fruits and the monkey boy watched them that he might observe the same ceremonies as they One day they brought home the first fruits and offered them to the bongas and they invited the monkey boy and his mother to come to the feast which followed the offering They both went and enjoyed themselves and two or three days later the monkey boy said that he would also have a feast of first fruits So he told his mother to clear the courtyard invited his brothers and he purified himself and went to his clearing and brought home the biggest pumpkin that had grown there This he offered to the spirits He sliced off the top of it as if it were the head of a fowl and as he did so he saw that the inside was full of rice He called his mother and they filled a winnowing fan with the rice and there was enough besides to nearly fill a basket They were delighted at this windfall but kept the matter a secret lest they should be robbed The monkey boy told his mother to be sure and cook enough rice so that his brothers and their wives might have as much as ever they could eat and not merely a small helping such as they had given him and if necessary he would go and fetch another pumpkin So his mother boiled the rice When the time fixed for the feast came nothing was to be seen of the brothers because they did not expect that there would really be anything for them to eat But the monkey boy went and fetched them and when they came to the feast they were astonished of as much rice as they could eat When the crop was quite ripe the monkey boy gathered all the pumpkins and got sufficient rice from them to last for the whole year After this the brothers went out to buy horses The monkey boy went with them and as he had no money He took nothing but a coil of rope His brothers were ashamed to have them with him and drove him away So he went on ahead and got first to the place where the horse dealer lived The horses arrived late in the evening and decided to make their purchases the following morning and ride the horses home So they camped for the night The monkey boy spent the night hiding on the rafters of the stable and in the night the horses began to talk to each other and discussed which could gallop farthest and one mare said I can gallop twelve coals on the ground and then twelve coals in the air When the monkey boy heard this he got down and lame'd the mare by running a splinter into her hoof The next morning the brothers bought the horses which pleased them and rode off When the monkey boy went to the horse dealer and asked why the mare was lame and advised him to apply remedies But the dealer said that that was useless When horses got ill they always died Then the monkey boy asked if he would sell the mare and offered to give the coil of rope an exchange The dealer, thinking that the animal was useless, agreed So the monkey boy led it away But when he was out of sight he took out the splinter and the lameness at once ceased Then he mounted the mare and rode after his brothers and when he had nearly overtaken them he rose into the air and flew past his brothers and arrived first at home There he tied up the mare outside his house and went and bathed and had his dinner and waited for his brothers They did not arrive for a full hour afterwards and when they saw the monkey boy and his mount they wanted to know how he had got home first He boasted of how swift his mare was and so they arranged of a race and matched their horses against his The race took place two or three days later and the monkey boy's mare easily beat all the other horses She galloped twelve coats on the ground and twelve coats in the air Then they wanted to change their horses for his but he said they had first choice He was not going to change In two or three years the monkey boy became rich and then he announced that he wanted to marry This puzzled his mother for she thought that no human girl would marry him while a monkey would not be able to talk So she told him that he must find a bride for himself One day he set off to look for a wife came to a tank in which some girls were bathing and he took up the cloth belonging to one of them and ran up a tree with it and when the girl missed it and saw it hanging down from the tree she borrowed a cloth from her friends and went and asked the monkey boy for her own He told her that she could only have it back she consented to marry him She was surprised to find that he could talk and as he conversed she was bewitched by him and let him pull her up into the tree by her hair and she called out to her friends to go home and leave her where she was Then he took her on his back and ran off home with her The girl's father in relations turned out with bows and arrows to look for the monkey who had carried her off but he had gone so far away that they never found him When the monkey boy appeared with his bride all the villagers were astonished that he had found anyone to marry him but everything was made ready for the marriage as quickly as possible and all the relations were invited The wedding took place and the monkey boy and his wife lived happily ever after End of The Monkey Boy The Mises servant This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Folklore of the Santal Paganas Translated by Cecil Henry Bompas Part 1 16. The Mises Servant Recorded by Anno Siwon Once there was a rich man who was a miser although he kept farm servants they would never stay out a year with him but ran away in the middle When the villagers asked why they ran away and so lost their year's wages the servants answered You would do the same in our place at the busy time of the year he speaks as fair and feeds as well but directly the crops are gathered he begins to starve us this year we've had nothing to eat since September and the villagers said well that is a good reason a man can stand scolding but not starvation we all work to fill our bellies hunger is the worst disease of all The news that the miser made his servants work for nothing spread throughout the neighbourhood so he could get no servants nearby and when he brought them from a distance they soon heard of his character and ran away men would only work for him on daily wages and because of his miserliness they demanded higher wages than usual from him and would not work without Now there was a young fellow named Cora who heard all this and he said if I were that man's servant I would not run away I would get the better of him ask him if he wants a servant and if he says yes take me to him the man to whom Cora told this went to the miser and informed him that Cora was willing to engage himself to him so Cora was fetched and they had a drink of rice beer and then the miser asked Cora whether he would work for the full year and not run away in the middle Cora said that he would stay if we were satisfied with the wages the master said I will fix your wages when I see your work if you are handy at everything I will give you 12 cuts of rice and 9 or 10 cuts besides your clothes how much do you ask for and Cora said well listen to me I hear that your servants run away in the middle of the year because you give them so little to eat all I ask for my wages is that you give me once a year one grain of rice and I will sow it and you must give me lowland to plant all the seed that I get from it and give me one seed of maize and I will sow it for seed and you must give me upland to sow all the seed I get from it and give me the customary quantity of clothes and for food give me one leaf full of rice 3 times a day I only want what will go on a single leaf you need not to several leaves together into a plate I will ask for no second helping but if you do not fill the leaf full I shall have the right to abuse you and if I do not do all the work you give me properly then you can abuse me and beat me if I run away from fear of hard work you may cut off the little finger of my right hand and if you do not give me the wages we have agreed upon then I shall have the right to cut off the little finger of your hand what do you say to this proposal consult your friends and give me your answer then the maize are answered I engage you on these terms and if I turn you off without reason you may cut off my little finger then Korra turned to the man who had fetched him and said listen to all this if there's any dispute hereafter I will be my witness so Korra began to work and the first day they gave him rice on a single sal leaf and he ate it up in one mouthful but the next day he brought a plantain leaf which is some three feet long and said give me my rice on this and mind you fill it full and they refused but he said why not it is only a single leaf and they had to give in because he was within his rights so he ate as much as he wanted and every day he brought a plantain leaf till his master's wife got tired and said to her husband why have you got a servant like this he takes a whole pot of rice to himself every day but he answered never mind his wages are nothing, he's working for his keep alone so the whole year Korra got his plantain leaf filled and he was never lazy over his work so they could find no fault with him on that score and when the year was up they gave him one grain of rice and one seed of maize for his wages for the year Korra kept them carefully and his master's sons laughed at him and said mind you don't drop them or let a mouse eat them Korra said nothing but when the time for sowing maize came he took his grain of maize and sowed it by the dungheap and he called them to see where he sowed it and at the time of sowing rice he sowed his grain separately and when the time for transplanting came he planted his rice seedling in a hollow and bait them noted when the maize ripened his plant had two big cups and one small one on it and his rice seedling sent up a number of ears and when it ripened he cut it and thrashed it and got one pie of rice and he kept the maize and rice for seed and the next year also he sowed this seed separately and it produced a big basket of rice and another one of maize and he kept this also for seed and in the course of five or six years he had taken all their highlands to sow his seed in and in a few years more he had taken all their ricelands too then his master was very miserable but he saw that it was useless to make any complaint and the master became so poor that he had to work as a servant to Cora at last the maizer called the heads of the village together and wept before them and they had pity on him and interceded for him but Cora said it is God who has punished him and not I he made poor man work for nothing but they asked him to be merciful and give him some land and he agreed and said cut off his little finger and I will let him off his bargain and call all the servants whom he has defrauded and I will pay them but the maizer would not have his finger cut off then Cora said let him keep his finger and I will give him back half his land the maizer agreed to this and promised to treat his servants well in the future and in order to lessen his shame he married his daughter to Cora and he had to admit that it was by his own folly