Alice Dracott - Simla Village Tales; Or, Folk Tales from the Himalayas

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SIMLA VILLAGE TALES

A Simla Village Woman

[Frontispiece.

A Simla Village Woman

From a Snapshot by A. E. D.

Original Title Page.

SIMLA VILLAGE TALES

OR, FOLK TALES FROM THE HIMALAYAS

BY ALICE ELIZABETH DRACOTT

LONDON
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, W.
1906

TO THE ONE I LOVE BEST.

PREFACE

In introducing Simla Village Tales to my readers, I wish to acknowledge gratefully the valuable assistance given me by my sister Mabel Baldwin, who, when I was obliged to leave India suddenly owing to nervous breakdown after the terrible earthquake which visited the Punjaub in April 1905, kindly undertook to complete, from the same sources where I had got them, my collection of folk-tales. Twenty excellent stories contributed by her include Tabaristan, The Priest and the Barber, The Fourth Wife is Wisest, and Abul Hussain.

Of the down-country tales my husband kindly contributed Anar Pari, The Dog Temple, The Beautiful Milkmaid, and The Enchanted Bird, Music, and Stream. Both my sister and my husband can speak the language fluently, and as the former has resided many years in the Punjaub, I am confident that her translations are as literal as my own. All the tales were taken down in pencil, just as they were told, and as nearly as possible in the words of the narrators, who were village women belonging to the agricultural class of Hindus in the Simla district.

I must add a word of thanks to Mr Hallam Murray for his invaluable assistance with the illustrations.

In one or two instances I was asked if I would allow a Paharee man, well versed in local folk-lore, to relate a few stories to me; but, for obvious reasons, I was obliged to decline the offer, for many Simla Village tales related to me by women, and not included in this book, were grotesquely unfit for publication.

The typical Paharee woman is, as a rule, extremely good-looking, and a born flirt; she has a pleasant, gay manner, and can always see a joke; people who wish to chaff her discover an adept at repartee.

The Simla Village Woman, whose photograph is reproduced, is a very good type. I found her most gentle and lovable. Her little boy, and last surviving child, has died since the photograph was taken last year, yet the young mother bears all her griefs with a fortitude which is really remarkable.

Himalayan folk-lore, with its beauty, wit, and mysticism, is a most fascinating study, and makes one grieve to think that the day is fast approaching when the honest rugged hill-folk of Northern India will lose their fireside tales under the influence of modern civilisation.

The hurry and rush of official life in Indias Summer Capital leaves no time for the song of birds or scent of flowers; these, like the ancient and exquisite fireside tales of its people, have been hustled away into distant valleys and remote villages, where, on cold winter nights, Paharees, young and old, gather together to hear these oft-repeated tales.

From their cradle under the shade of ancient deodars, beside the rocks, forests and streams of the mighty Himalayan mountains, have I sought these tales to place them upon the great Bookshelf of the World.

A. E. D.

CONTENTS

• PAGE

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

• From a Snapshot by A. E. D. Frontispiece.
• To face page 16
  Sukkia, child of Dukhia, will you marry me?
• 
  Took out the fan and began to wave it.
• 
  O Tree, shelter me!
• 
  Ive lost my goats, Ive lost my cows!
• 
  While he stood there the old Fakir opened his eyes and saw him.
• 
  The old woman alone remained at home on account of her feeble age.
• 
  Could it be fancy, or did he see a strange man standing before him?

THE CAUSE OF A LAWSUIT BETWEEN THE OWL AND THE KITE

THE CAUSE OF A LAWSUIT BETWEEN THE OWL AND THE KITE

The owl and the kite once went to law on these grounds. The owl said that she was the oldest creature in the world, and that when the world was first made, she alone existed. The kite objected. He said that he flew in the air and lived in the trees.

To prove which was right they went to law, and the owl pleaded that, since there were no trees at the beginning of the world, the kite was wrong in saying that he had lived in trees. The Judge therefore decided in favour of the owl.

A MONKEY OBJECTS TO CRITICISM

A monkey once sat on a tree, shivering with cold, as rain was falling, and a little bird sat in its nest on the same tree; and, as it sat, it looked at the monkey and wondered why a creature with hands and feet like a man should shiver in the cold, while a small bird rested in comfort.

At last it expressed its thought to the monkey, who replied: I have not strength to build myself a house, but I have strength to destroy yours, and with that he pulled to pieces the poor little birds nest, and turned it out with its young.

THE DEAD MANS RING

A young married woman one night listened to the jackals cry, and heard them say: Near the river lies a dead man; go and look on his finger and you will find a ring worth nine lakhs of rupees. She therefore rose and went to the riverside, not knowing that her husband secretly followed in her footsteps. Arrived there, she found the dead man, but the ring was difficult to remove, so she drew it off with her teeth.

Her husband, who did not know she had understood and acted upon the cry of the jackals, was horrified, and thought she was eating the flesh of the dead man; so he returned home, and when the morning came, took his wife to her mother, and said: I have brought back your daughter, and refuse to live with her any longer, lest I come to some evil end. He gave no reason for having thus said, and returned to his home.

In the evening his wife sat sorrowfully in the garden of her fathers house, and the crows came to roost in the peepul trees; and as they came, they said: In this place are buried four boxes containing hidden treasure: dig and find it, O my daughter. The young girl called her parents and told them the message of the crows. At first they laughed, but, after a while, they dug as she directed, and found treasure which enriched the whole family. The girl then explained the story of the dead mans ring, and her husband gladly forgave her and received her back.

THE ORIGIN OF DEATH

When God first made the world, He took two handsful of ashes and placed them in a corner and hid Himself. These became a man and a woman. God then called the man by name, saying: Manoo, and the man replied, Hoo instead of Ha Jee (Yes Life) respectfully, as he should have done.

For this reason was everlasting life denied him, and where he stood, there were his ashes when he died. Even to this day, if a man should scratch himself, a line of white ash of which he was made is seen. If any man addresses another as Jee it is accounted to his good.

THE REAL MOTHER

There was once a Rajah who had seven wives; six of these were rich and dwelt in his Palace, but the seventh was poor, and lived apart in a little mud hut by herself. The Rajah had one great sorrow, and that was that he had no children. One day he went out to shikar (or hunt) and saw an old Fakir lying fast asleep. He did not know that the Fakir had been asleep for twelve years; so he pressed his hands and feet, and the old man awoke. Seeing the Rajah sitting beside him, he thought he had been attending him for twelve years, so he said: What is your wish, my son? and the Rajah said: I have no children. I want neither riches nor honour, but a son. Then the old Fakir gave him his staff, and said: Go to yonder mango tree and hit it twice, bring away any fruit which may fall to me.

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