Santal (South Asian people) -- Folklore; Santali literature -- Translations into English; Tales -- India
As he hurried along intent upon his quest, he found a man fishing with
a Palmyra palm tree as a rod, and a full grown elephant as a bait. On
seeing him Gumda exclaimed, "You are indeed a great hero." The man
replied, "I am no hero, the widow's son Gumda is the great hero, for
did not he fling the raja's elephant across seven seas?" Gumda said,
"I am he." The fisherman said," I will go with you." Gumda replied,
"Come along!"
As Gumda and his attendant went on their way, they came to a field in
which a number of men were hoeing, and their master, to shield them
from the heat of the sun, stood holding over them, as an umbrella,
a large Pepul tree. [10] Gumda seeing him said, "You are a hero
and no mistake." The man replied, "No indeed, I am no hero. Gumda,
the widow's son, threw the raja's elephant across seven seas. He is
the hero." Gumda said, "I am he." "Then," said the man, "I also will
go with you." "Follow me," said Gumda, and the three proceeded on
their way.
As they journeyed they fell in with two men, who were raising water
from a tank for irrigating purposes by merely singing. When Gumda
saw them, he exclaimed, "You two are heroes indeed." They answered,
"What do you see heroic in us? There is one hero, Gumda by name, he
threw a raja's elephant across seven seas." Gumda said, "I am he." The
men exclaimed, "We also will follow you." Gumda said, "Follow." And
the five men went forth to search for the elephant's bones.
On and on they went until they reached the sea, which they crossed,
and entered the primeval forest beyond. Selecting a suitable place
they encamped, and began the search for the elephant's bones. The
first day the fisherman was left in the camp to cook the food,
while the others went out into the forest. Near by a certain jugi
raja resided in a cave in a rock. He came to the camp just as the
food was cooked, and said to the fisherman, "Give me some rice to
eat." He declined, and the jugi raja then said, "Will you give me
rice, or will you fight with me?" He replied, "I have prepared this
food with difficulty and prefer fighting to giving it up." So they
fought, and the jugi raja was victor. He laid a heavy stone on the
breast of the cook, and then devoured all the food. There had been
twelve maunds of rice prepared, and he left none. After a long time
he released his victim, and then went his way. Being released the
fisherman set about preparing more food, but before it was ready,
his companions returned and seeing the pot still on the fire, they
enquired why he had not made haste with his cooking. He replied,
"I have not been idle, I have spent all the time in cooking." He did
not tell them about the jugi raja having been at the camp.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account