Story 227 - The Gamarala who went to the God-World

IN a certain country there was a newly-married Gamarala, it is said. For the purpose of the livelihood of these two persons (himself and his wife), he begged and got a piece of chena from the King, to plant it on shares.^[1] Near the time when they obtained the chena, having taken great pains and cut the ground and tied the fence, they sowed the millet (kurahan). But during the course of time having completely forgotten about the millet chena, they remained doing house work.

After two or three months passed away in this manner, one day the Gama-Mahage (Gamarala’s wife) having remembered the millet chena, spoke to her husband,

“Have cattle eaten the millet chena ?”

and she sent him to look.

The Gamarala, too, having gone hastily at the very time when he heard the word, saw at the time when he looked that rice mortars having gone had trampled the millet, and eaten it, and thrown it down. Having come home, perceiving at the time when he looked that his very own rice mortar had gone, making it fast he tied it to a tree.

On the following day also having gone, and again having seen, at the time when he looked, that the rice mortars had Come and had eaten the millet, he walked everywhere in the village, and ordered [the owners] to tie up the rice mortars that were at the whole of the houses. The residents in the village being other fools did in the way he said.

On the third day, also, the Gamarala having come, and having seen at the time when he looked that the rice mortars still had come, he thought,

“It is our own rice mortar,”

and having gone home he split the rice mortar with his axe, and burned it. The ashes he threw into the river.

Nevertheless, on the fourth day having come, and at the time when he looked having seen that rice mortars had come, not being able to bear his anger he came home, and while he is [there] he remains in the house, extremely annoyed.

“Why is it ?” his wife asked.

Thereupon the Gamarala replied thus,

“The rice mortars having come to cause our millet eating to cease, I am not rich. Art thou clever enough to arrange a contrivance for it ?”

he asked. And the Gama-Mahage, having considered a little time, ordered the Gamarala to watch in the watch-, hut at the chena.

The Gamarala, accepting that word, on the following day went to the chena with a large axe, and during the nighttime having been hidden, at the time when he was looking out saw that a tusk elephant, having come from the Divine World and trampled on the millet, and eaten it, and thrown it down, goes away. Having seen this wonderful tusk elephant, and thought that having hung even by his tail he must go to the Divine World, he went home and told the Gama-Mahage to be ready, putting on clothes to-morrow for the purpose of going to the Divine World. At the time when the Gama-Mahage also asked “In what manner is that [to be done] ?” he made known to her all the news.

The Gamarala’s wife hereupon wanted to know the means to get clothes washed when she went to the Divine World. At that time the Gamarala said that they must perhaps take the washerman-uncle, [so he went to him and told him]. When the washerman-uncle set off to go he wanted his wife also to go, [and he brought her with him].

At last, these very four said persons having become ready and having been in the chena until the tusk elephant comes, after the tusk elephant came, at the very first the Gamarala hung by the tail. The Gamarala’s wife hung at his back comer (piti mulla). After that, while the washer-man-uncle and his wife were hung in turn behind the others, the tusk elephant, having eaten the millet, began to go to the Divine World.

After these four persons with extreme joy went a little distance, the washerman-uncle’s wife spoke to the Gamarala, and asked thus,

“For a certainty, Gamarala, in that Divine World how great is the size of the quart measure which measures rice ?”

she asked.

Thereupon the Gamarala, who was holding the tusk elephant’s tail the very first, said,

“The quart measure will be this size.”

Having put out his two hands he showed her the size.

At that time, these very four persons being extremely high in the sky, and from that far-off place having fallen to the earth, each one went into dust.

Western Province.

 

The Tusk Elephant of the Divine World (Variant).

In a certain country a man having worked a rice field, after the paddy became big a tusk elephant comes from the Divine World and eats the paddy.

The man having gone, when he looked (balapuwama) there are no gaps [in the fence] for any animal whatever to come; there are footprints.

The man thought,

“It is the rice mortars of the men of our village that have eaten this; I must tell the men to tie the rice mortars to the trees.”

Thinking it, in the evening the man having told it to the whole of the houses,^[2] together with the man they tied all the rice mortars to the trees. Having tied them, the man who owned the rice field and the men of that village went to the rice field and remained looking out.

Then from the Divine World they saw a tusk elephant, and with the tusk elephant also a man, come. Having seen them, when the men having become afraid are looking on, the tusk elephant eats the paddy.

Then the men asked at the hand of the man who came with the tusk elephant,

“You [come] whence ?”

Then the man said,

“We come from the Divine World; if you also like, come.”

After that, the men having said “Ha,” [added],

“How shall we come now ? At the speed at which you go we cannot come.”

Then the man said,

“As soon as the tusk elephant has got in front^[3] I will hang at the elephant’s tail. One of you also take hold at my waist,^[4] let still [another] man take hold at the man’s waist, and thus in that manner all come.”

After that, the men having said “Ha,” in that very way the tusk elephant got in front. The man having hung from the tusk elephant’s tail, when they were going away, the other men holding the waists, there was a coconut tree in the path.

Then the man who came from the Divine World said,

“Ando ! The largeness of these coconuts !”

Then these men asked,

“In the Divine World are the coconuts very large ?”

Then the man [in order] to say,

“They will be this much [across],”

released the hand which remained holding the tail of the tusk elephant. So the man fell to the ground, and all the other men fell to the ground.

Only the tusk elephant went to the Divine World.

Cultivating Caste, North-western Province.

 

Notes:

In The Orientalist, vol. i, p. 234, Mr. C. J. R. Le Mesurier mentioned the man who tied up the rice mortars in the belief that the elephants’ foot-prints in a rice field were caused by them.

In the Kaiha Sarit Sagara (Tawney), vol. ii, p. m, a man who got a tank made found that some animal tore up the surface of the embankment. When he remained on the watch for it he saw a bull descend from heaven, and gore it; and thinking he might go to heaven with it, he held the tail and was carried up to Kailasa, the bull evidently being the riding animal of the God Shiva. After spending some time in happiness he descended in the same way, in order to see his friends. They asked him to take them with him on his return, and he consented. He seized the bull’s tail, the next man held his feet, the third his, and so on, in a chain. While they were on their way upward one of the men inquired how large were the sweetmeats he ate in heaven. The first man let go, joined his hands in a cup shape, and said, “So big.” Thereupon they all fell down and were killed. The story adds that “the people who saw it were much amused.”

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

That is, the amount of the seed being first deducted, a certain share of the produce would be taken by the cultivator—sometimes one-half or one-third,—the rest going to the owner of the land, in this case the King.

[2]:

Gedarawal ganetama. Gane or gana = gahana, multitude; compare kadawal ganema, vol. i, p. 86, liue 17.

[3]:

Issara weccahama.

[4]:

Um̆balat ekkenek mage ina gawin alla-ganilla (hon. pl.); gawin, “near,” is commonly used for “at” or “by,” as in ata gawin dllagana, seizing the hand (vol. i, p. 127, line 23).