Long Ago
A long time ago, there was a young man with no parents or relatives. He lived alone and farmed on the mountain to survive.
One day, the villagers caught a sakhii (a kind of deer-like animal, also called Gyi or Che). Following village custom, the meat was shared among all families. The orphan received a piece from the inner part of the animal. He skewered the meat and dried it over the kitchen fireplace.
He worked very hard every day—doing farm work on the mountain and all the housework by himself. Early in the morning he went to the fields, and when the sun set he came back home.
But something strange began to happen. Every evening, when he returned from the fields, all the household chores—cooking, fetching water, gathering firewood, feeding the chickens and pigs, pounding rice—were already finished. The house was always clean and tidy.
Wondering about this mystery, he decided one morning not to go to the fields but to hide under the rice pounder and watch. In the cool evening breeze he saw the dried meat on the fireplace transform into a beautiful young woman.
Thinking of his lonely life, he came out from hiding and caught her. He begged her to be his wife. The young woman warned him:
“I am an animal. If you ever insult me or call me an animal, I will have to leave.”
He promised sincerely never to do so.
Family Life
Time passed. The woman bore him two daughters. He became respected in the village and often went to rice-wine gatherings.
One day the daughters asked their mother to make a toy bow and arrow. She was busy pounding rice and told them to ask their father at the wine gathering. But the father refused. The younger daughter sang:
“Father, Mother,
Please make me a bow and arrow.
I want to shoot the green bird on the banyan tree.”
Finally the mother made a bow and arrow for her daughter and told her to shoot at her father’s rice-wine cup. The girl did as told.
Furious, the man forgot his promise. He beat his wife and shouted, calling her an animal. Hurt and ashamed, she decorated herself with kitchen tools, shouted “Haokhii!” and ran out the back door, turning back into an animal and disappearing into the forest.
After the Mother Left
The father neglected the two daughters and spent his time drinking. The baby cried for milk. The older sister took the baby to the edge of the forest and called:
“Mother, Mother, please give us milk.”
The mother came in her animal form and nursed the baby every day.
One day a hunter killed the mother. The older daughter begged for her mother’s eyes. She planted one at the fireplace and one at the edge of the stream. The one at the stream grew into a bead tree full of colorful beads.
People came to ask the girls for beads. But when a greedy man demanded them rudely, he received only thorny pods. Angry, he cut down the bead tree.
The Children’s Journey
The girls followed the stream, chasing after their mother who had floated away as a tree. The journey was very hard. The little sister became weak and died, turning into a small insect. The older sister kept going and finally turned into a wild creeper plant growing by the stream.
Thus:
The mother disappeared into the river forever.
The little sister became a small insect.
The older sister became a creeper plant along the stream.
During the rainy season the plant is half under water, and during the dry season it burns under the sun—sharing the pain of the insect on her back.
Later Events
The orphan later married another woman. While traveling with her he found a dead bird and hung it on a tree. At sunset his wife warned him of danger. Looking closely, he realized his new wife and her family were evil spirits. He ran away, and the dead bird he had hung on the tree turned into another young woman, whom he then married.
Belief Today
The Kekear family of the Khongso tribe believe this story is connected to their ancestors. Because of this, during times when they are not practicing Christianity, they avoid eating meat from sakhii (the deer-like animal) and from certain birds.
#Zaletnwe & chatgpt
Comments
Post a Comment