Mystery in Manipur

   TALUI, Ukhrul dage nongchup pangna Kachai chatpa lambi romda panglap laptabida 40km muk chatlaga leiba khul amani. Khul ashida EEKON (pond) ama lei haina hainei Ukhrul ge khunja singna hainei. Khul ashida leiba meoising adu Ahenba top topa mahei kaya heinei hiana hainei. Karegumba matam amada makhoige chinjak chaba fanglaktaba/ sa tanbada sa fanglaktrabadi Sa onkheduna Chinglak manlakta chatkhe hianei. Makhoige EEKON adu ge eshing adu atopa meeoi singna thaklurabasu makhoige maong matou adu lounei hiana hainei. Chak tangba natraga Chengchin tha haibase mamangeige matamdade thoina ngaknengai oide. Lou loktrengei matamda chinjak ke awatpa leibana sa tanaba ching man da chatnei chinjak thenei. Chinjak fanglaktaraba matamda (chak tangba) yumda hanlaktabadage Tonganba mee nataba sa makhal ama onkheduna Ching man da leikhe haina wari tami.
Makhoige Ningol ama karegumba Atopa Meeoi singna lourabade Nupi aduna angang unaba matamda angang adu chathokee chadanaba senei hainei. Sa nga thamduna sa nga pejanaba hotnei. Makhoina sa onkhebadu Khutsa sing ashe tensinlakee haibade Khuton dage tang anin subada tekhe hain Matu chonsinlaktuna SAOOM (BEER) su onle Kareegumbada KEI (TIGER) su onle hainei.

    Makhoina atopa khun ge Lou singda chatuna Chucak (Maize) chaba lakee hainei, mee singdasu sarak tambage ware su tami. Makhoige ware ashe takthok tamthoknade hena kena lumna chatnei eina 2008 ta Tangkhul Emanabi amana tamlakapdage Ware ashe takheba su leikhrae, ngashesu Emanaba Amana tamlakpadage tarae. manaba ware anise na takpade haireba mee kanglup ashe mamangei ge matamdage leirake haina takpani. Houjik Houjik mak thengnadrabashu makhoige ahal singna chinhai ware oina hainaduna lakee haire. makhoige ware ashe takthok tamthokpa meeoi sing adu makhoina hatpa tupa touee haibadage ware ashe tamthokadabane. ware ashe eina Ukhrul ge angakpa kharage maramda asum ashum hangbada takthorakpani 2008 ta eisu ware ashe khngbatang khngjillaga leirakpani adubu ngashede khngee eninglakpadage ejabani.

     Karegumba makhoi haibade sa onkhraba sing adu khunja singna Thengnaduna hatpa thoklabadi shiraba SA-MEE aduge makok kaklaga Mamit thugairaga manakong adu leipak na mensille hainei. Lokee eshing chenthafamda mamai maioknaduna thame hiana tami.

Maramde Mamit thugaidrabade Atopa SA-MEE singna Uii, Mana mensinlebaduna Atopa singna Tadanabani hiana thajanabi lei. Chentharakpa Eshing aduga maioknana mamai adu thambage maramna Wa ngangba thoktanabani haina thajanabi leire.
Makhoige Ningol sing lourabadi Macha sing ge maraktage amana SA-Mee ge maong matou amade arotpa touba ngamba kaya chenlakee hainasu thajanare.
Ngashe se ET (Extra Terristrial) sing amade Parallel world theory ge matangda adum ware sanarakpadage aroibada Tangkhul Emanaba amada khngning ningshinglapadage hanglubani.

Maring echil enao kharana masega manaba ware tambada Chahe kharage mamangda Chandel District ke mafam amada Ching da Lang (TRAP) thakaambada Mee su manba Yong maksu natab sa makhal ama thuramkhe haire. haireba sa makhal ashe Mathake ware ashe ga manana mee na onbane su haina thajanei. Sa adu mapangal yam kanle hai, khunja singna Thonglaga Chathokhre haina paodamnei.


Masega manaba ware amadi thoudok sing takheba thengnakheba leibirabadi chingkheimeitei@gmmail.com da pao faobirakuu.

A Contest Of Wit

A Contest Of Wit
- A Manipur folk-tale -

..................Once, long ago, in a village there lived four friends named Chaoba, Chaobhal, Chaonu and Chaoton. They grew up together and loved one another very much.

One day, they were roaming about and reached a nearby village. There they happened to see a beautiful young girl who had come to the village pond to fetch water.

Each one of them was struck by the beauty of the girl. " I must marry her," each one of them thought without revealing what was going on in his mind to the other three.

The next day, each of them separately visited the girl's house and began to court her. As each one of them came to ttje House at different times, none of them knew what the others were doing.

The girl received and treated them equally. Things went on in this way for full three months. Then the girl began to think, These four young men are very close friends and they do not know that each of them is courting me.

A scene in the village

But one day they will know the truth and then they will be so angry with one another that they may become enemies . So it will be right for me to bring all of them together one day and reveal that all of them have been courting me. I shall then marry the one among them who will prove himself to be the most clever."

So, the clever girl made her plans.

Thus, when Chaoba came to see her, she said, "Dear brother, you have been courting me for three months. Things should not go on like this any longer. So, if you really love and wish to marry me, then please come here the next Monday at dusk and hide yourself behind the bamboo grove on the western side of my house. When my mother is asleep, I shall come out to the front courtyard and call you. Then you can come out of your hiding and I shall marry you."

She then said the same thing to the other three friends too, except that she told one of them to hide himself behind the bamboo grove on the south. To another she said that he should hide himself on the north, and to the fourth one she suggested that he should hide himself near the front gate.

And on the appointed day, as darkness descended Chaoba came to the bamboo grove on the western side and hid himself behind it. So did Chaobhal behind the bamboo grove on the southern side.

And Chaonu too hid himself behind the bamboo grove on the eastern side. Last of all came Chaoton, who hid himself behind a grove near the front gate.

And then as night advanced, the girl came out to the front courtyard and cried out loudly, "The time has come. I'm ready you can come out."

As soon as she uttered these words the four friends rushed out from their hiding places, and each one of them tried to grab the girl's hand. Just at that moment, the girl's mother with whom the girl had confided everything came out of her house.

In the light of the lamp that she had brought out the four friends saw and recognised each other. They realised what each one of them had been doing without the knowledge of the other three. They then began to laugh at one another's activity.

Chaoba then said, "Dear friends, this is a clever move by this girl. She has done it to make us know that each one of us has been courting her separately. So, instead of quarelling, we should find out a way to settle who among us should marry her."

The others agreed to this proposal. The girl then proposed that there should be a contest of wit among them. She said that each of them should tell a riddle and the one who could tell the cleverest riddle would marry her. The four young men readily agreed. They then invited some elderly neighbours to be the judges of the contest.

First of all, Chaoba began to tell his riddle. " Dear friends", he said, "my father once planted a mango tree. After the death of my father I wanted to make a boat and so I cut down the mango tree. You know it took me one whole month to cut down the tree. Then I thought the tree was too long for the boat and I decided to cut off the top-end of the tree. And so one day, after an early meal, I began to walk towards the top-end of the tree. But, the tree was so long that by the time I reached half of its whole length it was already sunset. So I had to spend the night by the tree trunk. The next day I reached the top-end of the tree, but again it was already dark. So I could cut the top-end only the next day. You see it took me a one and a half month to complete the work, beginning iiom the cutting down of the tree to the cutting off of the top-end. Now friends,it is for you to decide how long and how big the mango tree was."

The three friends were baffled. "It is indeed a huge tree, and we have never seen one so big," they all agreed.

Chaobhal then began his riddle. "My father had a buffalo. It had horns set wide apart as much as they were long. One day a crane flew from the tip of the right horn to reach the tip of the left horn . The crane started early in the morning but by the time it was dark the bird had reached only the first half of the distance. It had to spend the night on the head of the buffalo. The next day, the crane started early in the morning and again, by the time it reached the left horn, it was already dark. Now my dear friends, it is for you to determine how far one tip of the horn was from the other.

The three friends agreed, " Yes, the buffalo must indeed be very huge."

It was now Chaonu's turn to tell his riddle. After pondering awhile he began, " My father built a house having twelve rooms for me. One day I took a broom and began to sweep the floor starting from the front porch, right from the early morning. But by the time night came, I had reached only the middle part of the house. So I had to spend the night there and it took me the whole next day to complete sweeping the floors. Now, it is for you, friends, to determine the length, the breadth and the height of the house that my father built for me."

The other three friends agreed that it was really a big house.

It was now Chaoton's turn to tell his riddle. But no idea came to his mind immedialtely. He remained silent for a few minutes. Everyone began to think that he was not clever enough to tell a riddle. The girl, who was actually in love with him, and who very much wanted him to win the contest, became a little disappointed.

Some moments passed in this way.

Then an idea struck Chaoton and he began thus: "Like the father of each one of you, who left things for you, my father too left a drum for me. It was so big that one day I beat it on its left side and moved to beat the right side. But it was already night by the time I reached the middle of the drum's length. So I spent the night there itself and started for the other side on the following day. Of course I reached the right side only when it was dark. Now, friends, it is for you to determine the size of the drum that my father left for me."

The three friends winked at one another thinking that it was, compared to their own, not a clever riddle.

So Chaoba questioned him, "Where did your father get the trunk of the tree to make a drum that big?"

And Chaoton answered very confidently, "Well, you see, my father used the trunk of the mango tree that your father had planted. For the leather work my father used the hide of the buffalo that my friend Chaobhal's father owned. It took one whole year to make the drum."

But then Chaonu said, "The drum could not have been left in the open. Where was it kept?"

"Well, the village people kindly dragged it into the house which was built by your father, replied Chaoton with a hearty laughter.

The village elders now began to consider which riddle was the cleverest one. And finally, they all agreed that Chaoton's riddle was the best one and the girl was very glad at the result of the contest of wit.

Then the happy villagers arranged the marriage ceremony even at that hour. The girl's mother, being a widow and having no one to live with her, Chaoton and his wife lived with her, happily ever after.

"The End"

The Seven Poor Sons - Laira Macha Taret

" The Seven Poor Sons
- Laira Macha Taret -
- Animal Fables- "

Folk tale of Manipur.....................

Once upon a time, there lived a poor couple who had seven sons. They cannot even once feed their children properly so they decided to abandon them in the forest. So one day, the mother cooked bread for each of them and the father took them to the forest on the pretext of searching fruits. The youngest son was very clever; he did not eat the bread but instead left trials of their route with pieces of his bread.

When they reached deep into the forest, the father told them that he had to attain his nature call and asked them to wait there for him. It was almost dark, but their father did not return to them. The brothers were lost in the forest. However, the youngest brother followed the trial he had made and the brothers reached home late at night.

So the next day, the mother made breads for them and they came to the jungle again. The youngest one as usual left trials of their route. When they reached deep inside the forest, the father vanished again. And when they were about to return home, the bread trials were not found and they were lost in the forest.

The brothers not knowing the way back home started moving north in search of their home. As they walk towards north, they saw a small light coming from a house. As they reached the house, the brothers asked if anyone was there and let them stay there for the night.

A lady answered there call and they went inside the house. The brothers were getting ready to sleep when suddenly the lady wore a coat made of leather and started growing taller. She grew taller and flew away from the house.

In the same house, the seven sons of the demon were also sleeping. The demon sons wore crown on their heads. The brothers went in to sleep beside the demon brothers. Six of the brothers were very tired and slept the moment they took the bed but, the younger brother could not sleep.

The younger brother moved around the house and found lots of human skeleton inside the house. Now he came to realized that it was the house of the demons. So he came back to the room where his brothers and the seven demon sons were sleeping. He took the crowns from their heads and put it on the heads of his brothers and himself and slept.

After a while, the demon came back. She took off her coat and came inside the room where they were sleeping. She started touching the heads of the sleeping children and killed the ones without the crowns. After that, she too went to sleep. After a while she started snoring very loudly.

At that moment, the younger brother woke up his brothers and told them that it was the house of the demon and they had to go now or else they would be in trouble. As they came out of the house, the younger brother took the demon's coat. And when he wore it, he became taller and bigger. It was magic coat and with the help of the power, he took his brothers and flew to a hill far away from the forest.

When the demon woke up, he realized that she had killed her sons instead of the other children. The angry demon started following the brothers, but as she doesn't have the coat, she was slow. The brothers could see the demon following them from the top of the hill, so they hide behind the huge rocks. As the demon started climbing the hill, the brothers pushed down huge stones and killed the demon.

After killing the demon, the brothers flew north with the help of the coat. They saw a palace and went inside it. They narrated the incident and king was very happy on hearing the good news. The king was happy because his kingdom gives one human each everyday as tribute to the demon.

So happy was the king that he gave half his land to the brothers and also many other gifts. The brothers went to fetch their parents and they lived happily ever after.

"The End"

Art Work - Phurailatpam Banti.

The Human Python

"The Human Python"
- Taibang mee na lairen onba -

A manipuri short Folk tale....................

Once upon a time there lived a father and a son. After seasonal work in the field, they always go to the hills to cut woods from the nearby forest.

One fine day, they went to collect the chopped wood from the forest.

On reaching a perfect spot for cooking lunch, the father started preparing to cook and the son went in to carry out the woods.

The father started making preparation for cooking.

He found a piece of wood nearby to cut the Sareng that they brought while suddenly he with a fearful voice called out his son's name.

The son on hearing his father's voice rush to the spot and was shocked to see his father's position.

Half the body from the knee of his father had turned into a python. The son asked how all of that has happened.

The father replied that as he cut the Sareng into pieces on the wood, his body turns into python, so the son told him to stop cutting the fish.

The father told him that he cannot live as half man and half python forever so he insisted on turning into a full python and started cutting the fish.

The son cried and tried to stop him but in vain.

Now the father has turn into a python lay in front of his son. The son cried a lot and seeks his father's blessing.

The father told his son that now as he has turned into a python, he can no longer be with them but he will return every year to visit him and to guard his land and he was advised to leave out his share of food. Saying this, the father left.

"The End"

Motto: Parents always loves their children. Even though the father had turned into a python, he was willing to guard his son's land visiting him every year.

Art Work - Phurailatpam Banti.
A Manipur folk tale translated from a Book in Manipuri "Fungawari Singbul" compiled by B. Jayantakumar Sharma