Folklore of the Santal Parganas

Cecil Henry Bompas

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• Publié par: bajoh
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 24
• Langue: English

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Project Gutenberg's Folklore of the Santal Parganas, by Cecil Henry Bompas This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net Title: Folklore of the Santal Parganas Author: Cecil Henry Bompas Posting Date: December 13, 2009 [EBook #11938] Release Date: April 7, 2004 Last Updated: January 16, 2009 Language: English Character set encoding: ASCII *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FOLKLORE OF THE SANTAL PARGANAS *** Produced by Jeroen Hellingman, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/ Folklore of the Santal Parganas Translated by Cecil Henry Bompas of the Indian Civil Service 1909 [5] [Contents] Preface The Santals are a Munda tribe, a branch of that aboriginal element which probably entered India from the North East. At the present day they inhabit the Eastern outskirts of the Chutia Nagpore plateau. Originally hunters and dwellers in the jungle they are still but indifferent agriculturists. Like the Mundas and Hos 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 manjhi, with his assistant the paranik; the jogmanghi is charged with the supervision of the morals of the young men and women; the naeke 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 exogamous septs —originally twelve 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 (bongas) are everywhere around them: the spirits of their ancestors, the spirit of the house, the spirit dwelling in the patch of primeval forest 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 4800 sq. 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 Rev. 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 [6] to be written out in Santali, principally by a Christian convert named Sagram Murmu, at present living at Mohulpahari in the Santal Parganas. Santali is an agglutinative language of 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 have 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 shewing the way in which a very primitive people look at things. The Santals are great story tellers; 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; Frere, Old Deccan Days; Day, Folk Tales of Bengal; and Knowles’ Folk Tales 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 bongas. The Rev. Dr. Campbell of Gobindpore published in 1891 a collection of Santal Folk Tales. He gathered his material in the District of Manbhum, and many of the stories are identical with those included in the present volume. I have added as an appendix some stories which I collected among the Hos of Singhbhum, 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 1 are stories of a general character; part 2, stories relating to animals; in part 3, stories which are scarcely folklore but are anecdotes relating to Santal life; in part 4, stories relating to the dealings of bongas and men. In part 5, are some legends and traditions, and a few notes relating to tribal customs. Part 6 contains illustrations of the belief in witchcraft. I have had to omit a certain number of stories as unsuited for publication. C. H. Bompas. [9] [7] [Contents] Table of Contents Part I I. Bajun and Jhore II. Anuwa and His Mother III. Ledha and the Leopard IV. The Cruel Stepmother V. Karmu and Dharmu VI. The Jealous Stepmother VII. The Pious Woman VIII. The Wise Daughter-in-Law IX. The Oilman and His Sons X. The Girl Who Found Helpers XI. How to Grow Rich XII. The Changed Calf XIII. The Koeri and the Barber XIV. The Prince Who Acquired Wisdom XV. The Monkey Boy XVI. The Miser’s Servant XVII. Kuwar and the Raja’s Daughter XVIII. The Laughing Fish XIX. How the Cowherd Found a Bride XX. Kara and Guja XXI. The Magic Cow XXII. Lita and His Animals XXIII. The Boy Who Found His Father XXIV. The Oilman’s Bullock XXV. How Sabai Grass Grew XXVI. The Merchant’s Son and the Raja’s Daughter XXVII. The Flycatcher’s Egg XXVIII. The Wife Who Would Not Be Beaten XXIX. Sahde Goala XXX. The Raja’s Son and the Merchant’s Son XXXI. The Poor Widow XXXII. The Monkey and the Girl XXXIII. Ramai and the Animals XXXIV. The Magic Bedstead XXXV. The Ghormuhas XXXVI. The Boy Who Learnt Magic XXXVII. The Charitable Jogi XXXVIII. Chote and Mote XXXIX. The Daydreamer XL. The Extortionate Sentry XLI. The Broken Friendship XLII. A Story Told By a Hindoo XLIII. The Raibar and the Leopard XLIV. The Ungrateful Snake XLV. The Tiger’s Bride XLVI. The Killing of the Tiger XLVII. The Dream XLVIII. The King of the Bhuyans XLIX. The Foolish Sons [10] L. Kora and His Sister LI. A Story on Caste LII. Tipi and Tepa LIII. The Child With the Ears of the Ox LIV. The Child Who Knew His Father LV. Jogeshwar’s Marriage LVI. The Strong Man LVII. The Raja’s Advice LVIII. The Four Jogis LIX. The Charitable Raja LX. A Variant.—The Wandering Raja LXI. The Two Wives LXII. Spanling and His Uncles LXIII. The Silent Wife LXIV. The Dumb Shepherd LXV. The Good Daughter-in-Law LXVI. The Raja’s Dream LXVII. The Mongoose Boy LXVIII. The Stolen Treasure LXIX. Dukhu and His Bonga Wife LXX. The Monkey Husband LXXI. Lakhan and the Wild Buffaloes LXXII. The Boy with the Stag LXXIII. The Seven Brothers and the Bonga Girl LXXIV. The Tiger’s Foster Child LXXV. The Caterpillar Boy LXXVI. The Monkey Nursemaid LXXVII. The Wife Who Could Not Keep a Secret LXXVIII. Sit and Lakhan LXXIX. The Raja Who went to Heaven LXXX. Seven Tricks and Single Trick LXXXI. Fuljhari Raja LXXXII. The Corpse of the Raja’s Son LXXXIII. The Sham Child LXXXIV. The Sons of the Kherohuri Raja LXXXV. The Dog Bride LXXXVI. Wealth or Wisdom LXXXVII. A Goala and the Cow LXXXVIII. The Telltale Wife LXXXIX. The Bridegroom Who Spoke in Riddles XC. The Lazy Man XCI. Another Lazy Man XCII. The Widow’s Son XCIII. The Boy Who Was Changed Into a Dog XCIV. Birluri and Birbanta XCV. The Killing of the Rakhas XCVI. The Children of the Vultures XCVII. The Ferryman XCVIII. Catching a Thief XCIX. The Grasping Raja C. The Prince Who Would Not Marry CI. The Prince Who Found Two Wives CII. The Unfaithful Wife CIII. The Industrious Bride CIV. The Boy and His Fate CV. The Messengers of Death [11] [12] CV. The Messengers of Death CVI. The Speaking Crab CVII. The Leopard Outwitted CVIII. The Wind and the Sun CIX. The Coldest Season Part II CX. The Jackal and the Crow CXI. The Tiger Cub and the Calf CXII. The Jackal and the Chickens CXIII. The Jackal Punished CXIV. The Tigers and the Cat CXV. The Elephants and the Ants CXVI. A Fox and His Wife CXVII. The Jackal and the Crocodiles CXVIII. The Bullfrog and the Crab CXIX. The Hyena Outwitted CXX. The Crow and the Egret CXXI. The Jackal and the Hare CXXII. The Brave Jackal CXXIII. The Jackal and the Leopards Part III CXXIV. The Fool and His Dinner CXXV. The Stingy Daughter CXXVI. The Backwards and Forwards Dance CXXVII. The Deaf Family CXXVIII. The Father-in-Law’s Visit CXXIX. Ramai and Somai CXXX. The Two Brothers CXXXI. The Three Fools CXXXII. The Cure For Laziness CXXXIII. The Brahmin’s Powers CXXXIV. Ram’s Wife CXXXV. Palo CXXXVI. The Women’s Sacrifice CXXXVII. The Thief’s Son CXXXVIII. The Divorce CXXXIX. The Father and the Father-in-Law CXL. The Reproof CXLI. Enigmas CXLII. The Too Particular Wife CXLIII. The Paharia Socialists CXLIV. How A Tiger Was Killed CXLV. The Goala’s Dau