Thursday, February 26, 2015

Extra Reading Diary: Khasi Folktales Part 2

Khasi Folktales

What Caused the Shadows on the Moon
There was a family of deities. There was a mother, three daughters, and a son. The three daughters were Water, Fire, and the Sun. The son was the Moon. The Sun and the Moon possessed greater beauty than the two others. The Sun and the Moon were equal. The Moon acted differently as he grew up. He had wayward tendencies. He chose a life of pleasure and did not listen to advice of the elders. He stayed for a while with evil companions and low associates. When he returned home, he was amazed by his sister's (The Sun's) beauty. He went to his mother and demanded that he and The Sun get married. The Sun was angry with her brother and threw ash in his face. This caused marks on his face. The light of the moon has been pale marked by dark shadows ever since.

What Makes the Lightening
In earlier days, animals tried to imitate mankind and speak their language. There was a festival held every 13 moons. There were contests and dances. The animals would attend and wanted a similar carnival. After preparation, the thunder giant was sent to summon people to the festival. Everyone was enjoying themselves at the festival. The lynx did a dance with a beautiful silver sword. The thunder giant saw and thought that the sword was beautiful. The thunder god asked the lynx if he could see the sword, and the lynx wanted to say no. Everyone shouted at the lynx for not being courteous. The lynx gave the thunder god the sword. The thunder god was very forceful using the sword and it flashed everywhere. He leaped into the sky with the sword while beating on his drum. This is now known as thunder and lightening.

How the Cat Came to Live with Man
The cat used to live in the jungle with the tiger (its brother). The tiger was the king of the jungle. The tiger was not mindful of the well-being of his family. The cat was very proud of her family. Their household was very poor because of the tiger. The cat wanted to hide her poverty from her friends and neighbors. She tried to talk to her brother, but he was very angered. He got very sick one day and many people visited him. He told his sister to light the hookah, but she was disgraced because there was no fire to light the hookah. Her brother yelled at her and told her to go get a firebrand from the dwelling of mankind. Children were in the village and began to play with the cat. She loved playing with the children and did not want to return home. The tiger was angry with his sister and all the visitors left. He went to search for his sister and she heard him coming. She grabbed a firebrand and gave it to him, but her brother was abusing her. She returned to the village to live with man.



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