Fish Swallows Man

[Full title: Parallel elements in Folk and Epic literature (7) Fish Swallows Man]

Parallels of this element in both the Indian and Philippine(s) literatures are differentiated by the crudeness and primitivity of the latter in comparison with the refinement of the former in the weaving of events in the stories. Nevertheless, an analysis of the parallel elements is intended to be made after the extracts er synopsis of the pieces has been presented. A locus elasThe metrical romance is included to show how fo late the death-letter element has caught up with modern verse narratives.

-274 sicus, the tale of Krepa's son, Pradyumna, may be taken. 67 Kama has been consumed by Siva and condemned forever to be bodiless. The curse having been remitted, he was born again as Pradyumna. His wife, Rati, who all these ages had been searching for him without success, was shortly before this time born as Mayavati, and became the wife of a demon Sambara. Sambara, hating Krsna, stole Pradyumna while yet a babe and cast him into the sea. There, he was swallowed by a great fish, which was later caught and found its way to Sambara's kitchen. In the Kathas., there are three instances where the heroes are swallowed by fishes. Saktideva, while searching for the Golden City, was shipwrecked. From the wreck, he fell into the mouth of a large fish which at that time opened it. He was swallowed without suffering any injury. Escaping from hostile relatives, Bhimabhatta and Sankhadatta cross the Ganga. The former successfully crosses the river, but the latter was swallowed by a large fish from which, like Saktideva, he escapes uninjured. 69 In the 68 "story of the two princesses", a large fish swallows a ship and all on board, 70 and in the tale of Kesata and Kandarpa, 6/Kathasaritsagara, 11, foreword, p. xiii. (Bhag.Pur. x, iv and Vis.Pur. v. 73, et seq. - Wilson-Hall Transl.). Wilson Hall Transl.j. x, iv 6 Kathasaritsagara, 11 (Bk. V, Chap. xxv), p. 188-194. 69 Kathasaritsagara, vi (Bk. XII, Chap. 1 xxiv), p. 153-155. 70 Kathasaritsagara, ix (Bk. VIII, Chap. exxii), p. 51.

-275- "a women is rescued from a fish's belly. #71 In the Philippines, a parallel of this recurrent tale incident in Indian folk-literature is citable from Lam-ang, the Iloko folk-epos. Lam-ang, the hero, after having settled down to perform his duties as a householder (his turn having come according to village traditions) goes to fish. But in the process, he is swallowed by a large fish, named in the native speech, berkakan. In contrast to the deliverance of the heroes in the Indian tales who are alive and well, the Iloko hero is delivered from death only after his bones were collected from the river bed, and restored to life again by occult ritual. The deliverance of Pradyumna, Saktideva, Sankhadatta and other folk-heroes in India is probably paralleled by the safe escape of Rajah Bagaram, who was saved from drowning because he was swallowed by a big fish that brought him safely ashore.72 The presence of the Christian element in Lam-ang, 71 awney, ix (Bk. VIII, Chap. exxiii), p. 59. Cf. Stokes, Indian Fairy; Crooke, Popular Religion and FolkTales, No. xiv, Indian Antiquary, XIV, 1885, p. 258; Indian Antiquary, XV, 1886, p. 157; Tales, lore in North India, ii, p. 254. 72 Maximo Ramos, Tales of Long Ago in the Philippines p. 174-182. "The Bird that Stole the King's Golden Beard" Cf. the escape of Jonah in Hebrew literature from belly of a great fish appointed by the Lord God to swallow him up. Vide the Holy Bible of the Christians, Book of Jonah.

-276 the extant version of which has come down to the present century, offers a rather relevant but illusive problem. Here, there is the folktale incident peculiarly woven into the fabric of the whole epos, but showing characteristics .73 of being pre-Christian development, and yet fitted unconsciously or ingeniously into a piece of literature interspersed with Christian elements. However, the Christian element can be sifted out of the native and other alien elements (than the Christian) introduced into the literary matrix of the Islands ante-dating the advent of Christianity in the Archipelago. These alien elements may have been introduced from India. Another problem would be the date of the introduction of these pre-Christian elements, if they were not native independent folktale episodes growing out of pure authocthonous imagination. If they were introduced, when? It may be surmised that it would likely be at a time far earlier than the 16 th century A.D. It is also possible that these elements may have proto-types in the Javanese and Malay cycles of tales and stories. Perhaps, corollary to these parallel elements is that which may be rarely found in folk-literature - the ring-inpre-Christian, here, means the period antecedent to the coming of the Christian missionaries to the Islands.

-277 the fish incident. In Indian literature, the incident is seen in Sakuntala, 74 where the lost ring was later extracted from the stomach of a fish by a fisherman. The motif is seen in the Philippines. 75 While the first two tales I(a) and I(b) do not show necessarily the "ring-inthe-fish" element, the basic idea is present. In tale (a), the ring was found in the turkey's intestines, and in tale (b), it is discovered in the crop of the goose. In the third tale (13-A), the ring is found in the fish, while in the fourth tale (13-B), a precious stone is discovered instead of a ring. In the folk-epic of the Maranaos 76 the signet which was lost by Sulayman was later found in the belly of a fish by the king. It may be noted that the incident is confined only in Central and Southern Luzon, which reveals its restricted usage as a folk-story element in the Islands. There is likely a remote influence of the Indian element, but its being confined to the drama in India makes it difficult to conjecture its migration to the Islands. The idea, however, appears to be an Indian exportation, for the fish swallow- 746 akuntala, Act VI. 75 Fa Tansler, Tale I(a) "Suan's Good Luck" (Pampanga); I(b) "Suan Eket" (Rizal); Tale 13-a "The Rich and the Poor" (Rizal); 13-b "Lucas, the Rope-maker" (Laguna). 76 Indarapatra and Sulayman, Strophe 41. (Strophe Numbering is according to F. L. Minton's divisions).

-278 ing something is common in Indian folk-literature.