I chose to read from the Khasi Folktales Unit by Mrs. K. U. Rafy this week. Accessed here.
'The Tiger and the Monkeys' told the story about how the tiger became ultimately scared of the monkeys after a misunderstanding on the tiger's part. I found it quite a funny story since the tiger is made ruler of the animals based on his strength instead of his knowledge and he ends up being quite gullible. After the tiger heard the insect making the beautiful music he wanted to know who it came from and a monkey tricked the tiger and said it was his sister. The monkey clan could either go along with this lie or tell the tiger of this trickery since he clearly believed it and wanted to marry 'her'. The monkeys gained a lot from this debacle I think because in the end, the tiger thought he killed their sister even though it was a fake sculpture made by the monkeys to trick the tiger and had her head fall off easily. The tiger avoids the monkeys and the monkeys like the power this gives them. So it goes to show that sometimes it is better to have more brain than brawn.
'The Legend of the lei Tree' was interesting to me because it included a tree like the story before it (where the tiger rested under and heard the beautiful music made by the insect) and it also included a tiger, which was in the first story as well. So these two stories could easily be blended together I think and make up a cool storytelling post. The tree is thought to have magical powers that make everything around it dead (but this is from its great height and the shade cast rejects light from the undergrowth) and so men are sent to chop it down but every night the tree seems to be un swathed from the chop marks from the day before. The secret is told (from a small bird) that it is from a tiger that comes every night and licks the place where the tree is cut and heals it. After the men know this, the tiger's tongue is cut after licking it the next night and so he doesn't come back. The men then are able to cut the tree down and return sunshine.
'Hunting the Stag Lapalang' is one of my favorite folktales so far. It hits close to home since I am a mother myself and this story is centered on the power of a mother's love/heartache. Quick synopsis: A young deer is so loved by his mother that she shelters him from the world so long that he wants more freedom and so he ventures and is seen by men and after many start to try and hunt him, he is arrowhead down and killed. The mother wonders why her son is taking so long on his voyage to get food and she asks around and learns of his death. Her heartbreak is so powerful and sad it causes the whole city to feel her pain and realize they do not mourn for their own loved ones enough like this so that is why we mourn the loss of our loved ones today with a funeral and ceremonies alike. A mother's love is very great and I could feel her loss through the story, it made me think of the film Bambi in reverse and I realize that movie is sad but it could be sadder like this.
'U Biskurom'. I had read a storytelling post that was related to this story and I am glad I got to read it myself this time. The name is quite odd in my opinion, I'm not sure if the U is included as a first name or his whole first name is U Biskurom. I guess this goes to show the different culture I am used to. Relating to the actual story, it is quite the eye opener for how human nature is and this story tries to explain why we have death and no bringing the dead back to life. The persistent nagging and ill will towards U Biskurom after he would not tell them the secret of life. He was sent there to teach them to use tools and he left because they were much more crazy than the gods thought. The contrast between Gods and Humans is seen in this story I think, at least a glimpse.
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