Folklore of the Santal Parganas eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 578 pages of information about Folklore of the Santal Parganas.

Folklore of the Santal Parganas eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 578 pages of information about Folklore of the Santal Parganas.

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 “Fie, what low caste person is touching me?” But they said.  “It is no low caste person, but Dharmu.”  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 Dharmu 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 pai measure stuck to her throat because, when her neighbour 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 Dharmu 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 Dharmu and he arranged a great feast and gave paddy 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 at once shone out and dried the paddy.

Then a day was fixed and they prepared rice beer, and worshipped Karam Gosain and they danced all night and got very drunk and enjoyed themselves.

VI.  The Jealous Stepmother.

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 ploughing make him drive the front plough, and you sharpen your plough 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 plough pole but whenever they ploughed, the son drove his plough so fast that the

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Folklore of the Santal Parganas from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.