Gadaba Tales I
Let me utter your name my Goddess, ‘Hari,’ ‘Hari’ I chant at present, I shall deliver you to the Sadhaba King, In the Kingdom was a Sadhaba King, Seven brothers are there, O Father, Hari, Hari I chant at present, Sadhaba’s wife has in her mind, They’ll be all for They’ll trade wagonloads, O Father, What to speak of her daughters-in-law, O Father, Seven women they are, O Father, As the ship (with goods) is loaded, Heavy with sorrow was their mother, Our daughter Dalima Dei, "We shall bring presents for our sister, One will be the seven brothers, The ‘virgin’ (young) bullocks they traded, ‘Hari,’ ‘Hari’ they chanted at present The seven brothers ,O Father, A splendid kiss they gave her, Father, We shall all be safe for you, O Father, Seven wives will be there to protect you, Hari,’ ‘Hari’ they chanted at present Soon they were lured by the Laddu (sweatmeat) of thirst, Then they decided to come back, O Father, I shall come soon O lord, Let Him save the eldest Bou, They went to the Kalinga fair, Hari, Hari they chanted now, The second half of the day is over, now, The cooking started O Father, ‘Virgin’ bullock, we offer, O! Father, Under a banyan tree they stayed, O! Father, Into the forest they reached, O! Father, The hearth they arranged afresh, Forward came the little brother, O! Father, The King of Tigers was at home, O! Father, Six brothers now remain, O! Father, A sage was in meditation, O! Father, They started a fire, O! Father, Hari, Hari they chanted now, The six brothers were there, O! Father, Before them he stood, O! Father, 2697 The little brother reached, O! Father, Hari, Hari they chanted now, Cried he in brothers’ embrace, 2698 Inside the forest, O! Father, Hari, Hari she chanted now, So many days were past, O! Father, How shall I cook my food, O! Father, Severe became the night for her, O, daughter, call her as Dalima Dei, 2699 The Bou’s hand on the wood rested, Rani will marry, O! Father, As the morning came into being, She went to the forest where the tiger king remained, 2700 [Side B starts] Hari, Hari she chanted now, Now seven wives will go to the forest, Now they searched for Neem wood, O! Father, They tied the load of wood, O! Father, They witnessed the Neem flower, Let us see if they are pleasant, they said, 2701 She plucked Neem fruits, O! Father, She thought of seven sisters, O! Father "How sweet are these fruits," she said, The elders may ask for their names, To Dalima Dei damsel she warned and told, Our life has been fulfilled, my sister, Hari, Hari she chanted now, It was the Jamun fruit, O! Father, She hid the Jamun in her hair, The night came now, His youngest Bohu now, On her bed, O! Father, This had an affect on Dalima Dei Rani, The youngest daughter-in law, I shall taste and give, she thought, How sweet these are, she said, When the morning came, O sire, I’ll eat to my heart’s content, Say Hari, Hari, now, Dalima Dei has to eat. O lord, Some fruits stayed in her hand, I shall go to the tree, she said, Remembering the eldest one, How will they live in the forest, O lord, Her brothers came, 2706 Its impossible they said, The dawn is coming now, For the Dalima Dei queen, He made the things ready, 2707 Hari, Hari she chanted now, Hair, nail and head, She looked extremely pretty, O! Father, She reached near the Neem tree, 2708 In two hands she plucked and ate, She climbed up the tree, Hari, Hari she chanted now, The eldest Bohu will be angry, O! Father, Evening has set in now, she said, 2709 We shall be rebuked when we go home, Hari, Hari she chanted now They will grumble, The evening has come now, The seven sisters went, O father, 2710 Dalima Dei will become the queen, Dalima Dei will become. In the Jamun tree’s hand, In the Dalima tree’s hand. It’s become dark, O father, They’ll come to the tree, My fruits have fallen down, 2711 Why are they staying back? Or queen is worried, O father, They didn’t look for her, They cried by themselves, She climbed up the tree, O lord, 2712 She climbed above the tiger, It would be good to eat her, The tiger moved around and roared, The tiger saw her now, O lord, 2713 Such a beautiful princess, it thought, I shall make her princess Dalima, 2714 I must go back, she thought, The tree will protect her, Hari, Hari she chanted now, Now let Dalim Dei Rani be focused, She ate the underground roots now, He put her on his back, O! Father, He carried her into the mountain, O! Father, He took away the Rani, O! Father, He pushed at the bolted door, He invited his tribe, O! Father, I have brought a human bride, The tiger told his mother, The tiger rummaged though the kingdom, He cooked five puties of rice, The tiger tribe again gathered. He told the bride about it again. He told the Rani about it. "How could you bring a human bride? Bring out your bride; we would like to see," said the tiger tribe. 717 Today the Tiger King said, "Queen! O! Queen! Today is the wedding day. All people – your father-in-law, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law – all have arrived. Today, the same Queen – Dalima Dei Rani – came out slowly with a sense of fear. Today, demurely, she did pay obeisance to all. She was demure enough to hold the hand of some. She saw all the people. She recognized them. She knew them. Today some of them called her as daughter-in-law, all the relatives. 2718 Like this, all people were exhausted (in establishing relationships with her). Today she cooked rice and spinach. She got herself exhausted by cutting and beating things. She gave them food and drinks. She distributed the food to all the members of the tiger race. Thus, she distributed all the food; she got accolades for doing everything according to their tradition. She spent the day according to their tradition; then she said that she saw some flowers blossom today, and went inside for 3 to 4 days. Today the King of the tiger race approached and told her, "Today, O! My Queen, 2719 she saw something and is tired like intoxicated ! The fact is that today everybody’s legs are full of liquor. Today nobody will bring threats and surprises to the bride. Today, I have brought a human bride, a human princess," said the tiger King. "Since I introduced you to everybody, everybody knows you." (Sometimes) he brought a person known to her. Whoever came to that place did not appear again until six months or one year. It was going on like that. Her (Dalima Dei Rani’s) brother thought, 2720 "How long can I live like this in this jungle without sleep? Today, I must kill something to eat. Today, which path should I take?" Her brother – Rani’s youngest brother – while still crying went to the place where the Rani used to go to bring water to drink. He went to that place and returned. In the very same place, today, the Rani brought water and washed her clothes in the water. 2721 Today, her brother kept a close vigil while remaining on the top of a tree. While he was still crying, he saw Rani. As he saw Rani, she too saw her brother’s face reflected in the water while she was washing her clothes. "Oho! I had seven brothers, one of which has this visage. How beautiful is this image which has fallen on the water?" thought Rani. 2722 "Was he eaten away by a tiger, or a bear? What happened to him? Today, I am missing my brother. To which direction, did he go? To which country, did he go? So many years have passed away; today is he alive or dead? I can’t believe that this (image) could be my brother’s." He began crying. Today, the sister began crying. Her brother, too, started crying while sitting on the top of the tree. 2723 While crying like this, the tears dropped on his sister. As the tears fell on her, the sister said, "O, Ho! What kind of bird is this? What kind of water fell on me?" She wiped out the water and thought, "O, Ho! This sounds like something of the human world. Who are you, how come you look like my brother in this water? Are you inside the water, or on the top of the tree? Wherever you may be, we must talk to each other. Am I not a human being? The tiger snatched me away and has been tending to me." 2724 As he heard this, the young boy asked her, "Who are you? We were seven brothers and had seven sisters. One of my sisters is named Dalima Dei Rani. In order to buy things for our sister, we seven brothers had been to a fair. Six of our brothers went away somewhere, while we were on our way and I had gone on errand to fetch water. I am the lone survivor. Now I don’t find in this jungle any kingdom or any house. I don’t know where to go. While I was searching like this, I reached here. 2725 "As I reached here, I was terrified of my death, and hence I have been hiding on this tree." The woman said, "Is it you, my brother?" The brother alighted from the tree, and (finding his sister) cried a lot. Both of them cried together again. "O, my Big Brother! How can I save you?" said the Sister. "Your brother-in-law is a Tiger-(man); it will roar and pounce upon you the moment he sees you. How can I hide you (my brother)?" The sister deeply thought. 2726 She uttered the magical mantras and, by telling him this and that, convinced him, and ultimately took him to her tower. She took him and made him sit on her lap. Then, Rani, while crying and praying for her brother, boiled rice in water, and also cooked spinach. After that, the Tiger came, and called, "Rani, Rani." "What’s the matter, King," said the Queen, "What’s the matter?" "No, it smells like the smell of the human being," said the King. "I strongly smell the odour of the human being," he repeated. 2727 "No, no, King! I am a human being. (You know) I am from man’s world. You can eat me," said the Queen. "O, ho, Rani! Had I wanted to eat you, I could have eaten you there itself," said the King. "If I did not devour you there, why should I devour you now? I shall eat what you eat." Being absorbed in their musical world as well as their mores of life, he continued his stay incognito for two to three days more. 2728 As the brother stayed like that for a longer period, the Tiger said, "O! No, Rani! Never did such a thing happen. The human odour never persists for such a long time. I am constantly getting the human odour for the last three to four days. Please don’t hide facts, O! Rani!" said the Tiger. "If your take a vow for three times, I shall tell you, otherwise no," said the Rani. The King made a vow for three times. Then, she said to the King, "Listen O King, one of my younger brothers arrived here after so many days. 2729 Hence, I have kept him in the underground," said the Rani. He said, "He is your brother; how can I eat him? We shall rather keep him here." The Rani brought her brother from the underground in the human form and presented him to the King. Thus, the sister and the brother lived together. The Tiger King has already swallowed the vow. Hence, both the brother and the sister cooked rice and ate it. 2730 They cooked rice and spinach and ate them. Since the Tiger King kept up to his word, the brother could stay for another six months to one year. In the meanwhile, the Rani became pregnant. As she became pregnant, she confined herself to her place for another six to seven months. Then, she gave birth to a tiger child. 2731 Looking at the tiger child, she said to herself, "O, Ho! It’s a tiger child. Had I married a man from man’s race, a human child could have been born. Since I am married to a Tiger King, I gave birth to a tiger child. Now, what to do with it?" "O, Sister, how can I take him (the tiger child) around? He used to eat and gossip. Like this, on day, the uncle and the nephew stayed together like friends. 2732 The tiger-child remained confined to their house made of hay. It was strange that a tiger child did not go outside and play. When he went out he played marbles and other games. Then the tiger child said, "Mummy, Mummy, we shall eat today." "What do you say, child?" said the Mother. "Are you not going to serve me food," said the child. "What else do you want to eat, my dear," said the Mother. "Where is Banmali," said he. 2733 He yelled, "Banmali." Today, her (the tiger queen’s) brother becomes Banmali. The tiger-child called out to him. How can he become so? Day by day the tiger-child grew bigger. Becoming bigger, they were wandering. Both the uncle and nephew were wandering, playing together. Even tomorrow, they would not part company, would wander. She asked her brother to bring some bamboo for the hearth. 2734 The she asked him to bring some meat and some jackfruit from the yard. He said, "Okay," and went with the nephew to get some meat. After eating, his sister sent him to bring a kill. "Go, go, Brother, to the brinjal garden; there is nothing else to do," said the sister. She asked him something to do, and left. As she asked him to do this, he said, "We shall surely go." Her brother and her son set out for hunting an animal. They were in search of an animal. His uncle killed an animal. He killed the animal and while cleansing its skin, he cut one of his fingers with his axe. 2735 He said to himself, "O, ho, the meat is stained by my blood. I came here to kill animal, and cut my own finger." The sister called, "Brother, Brother." She asked her son, "Banmali, where is your uncle?" The brother said, "O, no, I injured myself with the axe, cut my finger and lot of blood flowed." She tore some cloth and tied on the finger. He tied down the meat in the shape of a pile and returned home. 736 As he came back home, the sister asked, "Where is meat, Nuna (brother). Since it was tainted with my blood we could not get meat. As we threw it away, we came back," said the Brother. "O, ho, did someone eat the meat?" asked the sister. Then, the sister cooked what she had in the blood. The brother gave his sister some delicious food along with drinks. "O, ho, how sweet is the blood of my brother? His flesh would be sweeter still," thought the tiger child. (He ruminated), "How sweet would be his flesh?" 2737 He said to herself, "I shall tell it to the King." As he had decided to tell it to the King at night when the King came. Upon his arrival, his Rani said, "O, King, O, my King." "What’s the matter, my Rani," said the King. "No, I shall tell you some matter, do you like to listen to me?" she said. "What’s matter; tell me," said the King. 2738 "No, no, the matter is, you know my brother, I sent my brother and my son for bringing some kill. As he was cutting the meat, he cut his own finger." "I tasted his blood, and nothing could be so sweet," (said the Rani). "O King! If you fetch me the meat of my brother, we shall live together, otherwise I would better die," said the Rani. "I shall remain alive if you bring the meat for me," said she. 2739 "O, Ho, Rani! You made me take a three-fold vow (in Indian mythology, a three-fold vow is a special kind of vow, which means that the person cannot break the vow under any circumstances. If at all one does, he has to face dire consequences). How could you ask me to bring your brother’s flesh?" said the King. "Then, my life will be lost," said she. As he told this, she insisted upon him saying, "whatever be the case, you must fetch it for me." Since she asked him to bring it for her under any circumstances, he said, "O.K., let us see how we can do it." Her son could overhear this. 2740 "Oh, is it the way?" (thought the nephew, the Rani’s son). "I could understand if my father ate my uncle, but how could my mummy, the sister, eat her brother, my uncle?" said the son to himself. "Let me see how she would do it." "How to do it, my Rani?" said the King. "Let me kill him with an axe." "My little darling, my child, is asleep. My brother is asleep, (too). You go to him (my brother), wring his neck and throw him out. Then you go out and bring his meat to me. 2741 "I shall cook it and eat it," said the Rani. The young boy heard this. "O, ho!" he said. On a certain day, the young boy said, "Uncle?" "What’s it, my boy?" said the Uncle. "You sleep inside, I shall sleep outside," said the young nephew. "What for?" said he. "No, no, you sleep inside, I shall sleep outside," he again said. 2742 "No, no, you are a young kid, you sleep inside, I shall sleep outside," (said the Uncle). "No, no," said the little boy. That young kid slept outside. He made his Uncle sleep inside the house. His father approached him in the dead of the night. His father had stealthily come to catch the uncle. His son said, "Where have you come, my father? Have you lost your eyesight? Don’t you see anything?" 2743 The Tiger got ashamed and went inside. "No, Rani, my own child reprimanded me since he was awake," said the King. "How could I do it?" "Well, no, no, let me think over how to do it," said the Rani. "He (her young son) could see (you) since you visited (the place) at night. 2744 "I shall detain him in the house. I shall send my brother to the brinjal field. You hide yourself in the brinjal field. When he comes to pick the brinjal, catch him." The King said, "Yes." "No, no, Brother, go and fetch some brinjal; there are no vegetables," said the sister (the Rani to her brother one day). As the sister said that there were no vegetables and (as such) he had to fetch some brinjal, she prepares a bamboo container (for the task). Her brother took the bamboo container and went to the brinjal garden. 2745 "O, Uncle, where are you going? O, Uncle, where are you going?" asked his nephew, the Tiger’s child, repeatedly. (The uncle told him.) Then, he said again, "O, uncle, I shall go with you, I shall come with you," said he. So saying, he walked ahead, keeping his uncle behind him. He (the nephew) remained in front. He kept his Uncle behind him. 2746 His father had been crouching in the brinjal field much earlier with the purpose of catching his sala (the wife’s brother). As soon as the Tiger’s child saw the Tiger, he beat him. As he lashed at him, the Tiger ran home making several jumps. As he reached home, he said to Rani, "You, Rani, you will eat away my life; my young son beat me. I am ashamed of it. 2747 "How shall we kill him?" "No, King, it is all right. He saw (you) there because it was daytime; but let the night come," (said the Rani). "How to do it?" asked the King. "In the night, the poor child sleeps. That will do," said the Rani. She made her son work (that day). She took him to the garden, and made him walk (quite a bit). The young boy got tired. Since he was made to work, (she thought) he would fall asleep. (At night she put him to bed. She thought) he was asleep; but he was not asleep. He had taken his food (and gone to bed but he was not asleep). As his uncle took his food, he said, "Uncle, you are going to sleep?" As he went to sleep, this tiger child took the dry leaves and made his Uncle sleep under a bed he made of the leaves. 2748 One day, this child went there and slept under the leaves. His mother said, "O, King, let me go (tonight)?" He (the King) sent her. The Rani was in a dilemma – when she went one way, she found her husband, and when she took the other, she reached outside her house. "Where do you want to go, Mummy, in this dreadful night?" said the young boy. "No, Darling, I am going nowhere," said the Mummy. "How come you have come nowhere," said the young son. The Rani went back. 2749 "No, no, King, our son (saw me and) was angry with me. You better go," said the Rani. Thus, she persuaded her King to go (there). Now the young boy was ready with a sword in his hand. His father came to that place. He killed the Tiger King cutting him into seven pieces. As he pierced his sword into seven places of the body, the Tiger King fell down at the main door. The son came to the Mother. 2750 "You see mother, I have killed my father," (said the son). His mother cried. He too cried for his mother. He cried for his father, too. Then, he collected all the materials, all the wealth that belonged to him. He went to the man’s world along with his Uncle. As he took him to the man’s world, he restored the human status to his Uncle. He celebrated the marriage of his Uncle, too. "From today onwards, live happily," said he to his Uncle. Then he added, "I would like to live with your people; I wish to stay with you, my Uncle, 2751 "but I belong to the jungle world, I can live in the jungle only; I shall live by killing animals and feeding myself with the kill," said he. Thus, he gave wisdom to his Uncle. Then, he fled away into the jungle. Thereafter, his Uncle enjoyed his kind of food, and lived happily.* Source: "This story was told to me by my maternal grandmother." * |
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