Story 113 - Hitihami The Giant

IN the Wanni country, in the north-western quarter of the Island of Lanka (Ceylon), there is a village called Andara-waewa. In that village a giant was born. His parents, cherishing him, reared the child.

While the child is at the age for playing seated, he eats about two quarts of cooked rice [daily]. At the walking age he eats about three quarts of cooked rice. While seven years of age he eats about four quarts of cooked rice.

Having gone with children who walked about for amusement, having caught hares and mouse-deer, and struck them on the ground, killing them, he brings them [home].

After he has brought them, his two parents ask,

“Whence, son, are these ?”

Then the child says,

“Mother, having gone running I seized them.”

Thus, having been living in that manner, at the age of about twelve years he said to his mother,

“Mother, give me food [to enable me] to go to cut a chena.”

So his mother gave him food.

The child having eaten the food, and gone to the jungle taking two bill-hooks, cut the chena that very day.

Having cut it, and come home, he said to his mother,

“Mother, I cut a chena. I don’t know the time for setting fire to it. Because of it, tell father to set fire to the chena.”

After that, his mother said,

“Our son cut a chena. Set fire to it; son does not know the time for setting fire [to it].”

After that, the man went and set fire to the chena.

This giant-child having gone, cut the fence [sticks] for the chena in one day; on the next day he went, and sowed it till he finished it. The sowing account was a paela (a quarter of an amuna of 5-7 bushels) of millet.^[1]

On the next day he said to his mother,

“Mother, I cut a chena indeed; for the purpose of going and doing the work at a tawalla^[2] also, give me food.”

Afterwards his mother gave him food. Having eaten the food, the child went to the tawalla, and put up earthen ridges over the ground for [making a field large enough for sowing in it] one and a half amunas (8-55 bushels) of paddy.^[3] Having put them up he came home.

Having gone on the following day, he made [the soil into] mud^[4] [by causing cattle to trample it]. Having made [it into] mud he came home.

Having come, he said to his mother,

“Mother, place one and a half amunas of paddy in water [to cause it to sprout] for sowing in the tawalla.”

Afterwards his mother made the paddy sprout. This child took the one and a half amunas of paddy, and sowed it that very day. In the evening he came home.

On the following day he said to his mother,

“Mother, give me food. I indeed sowed the tawalla; there is still to build the watch-hut in it.”

Afterwards his mother gave him food. The child ate the food, and went to the tawalla. Having gone there, and that very day having made the fence, and that very day having built the watch-hut, he came home. Having eaten food, he went back to the watch-hut, and with his own foot he sprinkles water over the amuna and a half of paddy.^[5]

At that time the King caused a Mallawa^[6] giant to be brought to Kandy. Many men wrestled with the Mallawa giant and fell.

After that, the King said to the Ministers,

“Go and find a thoroughly strong giant, and come back.”

Afterwards the Ministers spread the news:

“Is there a giant able to wrestle with the Mallawa giant ?”

Then certain men said,

“At the village called Andara-waewa there is a man called Hitihami, who eats the cooked rice from seven [quarts] of rice. That man is good for wrestling with the Mallawa giant.”

After they said it, the Ministers went to Andara-waewa to seek the giant Hitihami. When they went there, the boy Hitihami was not at home; only the giant’s mother was there.

They asked at the hand of his mother,

“Where is now Hitihami ?”

Then his mother said,

“My son went to the watch-hut at the tawalla.”

After that, the Ministers went to the tawalla to seek him. As they were going there they saw Hitihami sprinkling water for the tawalla with his foot. Thereupon the Ministers went to the place where Hitihami was sprinkling water.

Having gone, the Ministers asked,

“Is it you they call Hitihami of Andara-waewa ?”

Then Hitihami said,

“Yes, it is I myself. What matter have you come about ?”

he asked.

Then the Ministers said,

“It has been arranged by the King [that you are] to go for the Mallawa wrestling. Because of it, get ready^[7] for you to go.”

After that, Hitihami having come home with the Ministers, asked at the hand of his mother,

“Mother, haven’t you cooked yet ?”

His mother said,

“Son, I have not yet cooked. I have only boiled five quarts of meneri.”

Then Hitihami having [drunk] the milk taken from seven buffalo cows in the large cooking-pot, and having eaten those five quarts of boiled meneri, [after] washing his [right] hand and taking his betel bag also, said to the Ministers,

“Let us go and Hitihami and the Ministers went.”

At the time when they are going, there are a great many pumpkins at a chena on the path. Having seen them, Hitihami, plucking four pumpkins also and continuing to eat them, went to Kandy.

The Ministers who went with him said to the King,

“Hitihami of Andara-waewa has come.”

The King told Hitihami to come near, and said,

“Can you wrestle with the Mallawa one ?”

Then Hitihami replied,

“Putting one Mallawa person [out of consideration], should seven come I am not afraid.”

After that, the King told him to go for the wrestling with the Mallawa one.

As soon as Hitihami went, he seized the Mallawa one. Then the bones of the Mallawa one were broken.

The King said

“A ! Kill not my Mallawa one !”

So Hitihami let go. The Mallawa one having died, fell on the ground.

After that, the King was displeased with Hitihami. Having become displeased he said to the Ministers,

“You must put Hitihami on the other bank of the river (Maha-waeli-ganga).”

The Ministers put Hitihami on the other bank.

As Hitihami was coming away to his village, sixty persons having ccme together for a paddy kayiya^[8], were at the foot of a tree.

Hitihami having gone there, asked,

“What are you come together there for ?”

Then the men said,

“We have come together to cut a paddy kayiya.”

Hitihami said,

“Are you willing for me also to cut the paddy plants for a breath (husmak) ?”

The men said,

“It is very good; let us cut.”

Afterwards, asking for the sickles from each one of the men, and having broken them, and thrown them down, and drawn out the betel-cutter that was in Hitihami's betel wallet (bulat-payiya), taking it he began to cut the paddy plants. Only the paddy plants of two amunas of paddy (about four and a half acres) were ripe; there were no more.

He finished the two amunas of paddy plants, and because there were no [more] ripe paddy plants, cutting the fence of the upper field and having gone [there], he began to cut the green paddy plants.

Then the men who owned the field said and said,

“Don’t cut [those].”

He does not stop. Afterwards the men tied a ball.^[9]

Afterwards, the giant having come to the high ground [outside the field], when he came to the place where the men were near the tree, the men said,

“Let us go to eat the kayiya.”

Then Hitihami said,

“You go and eat the kayiya; I am going to my village.”

As he was coming on and on, having met with a wild buffalo it began to gore him. So Hitihami seized the two horns of the buffalo, and loosening the two horns, went to his village [with them].

Having gone [there], and given into his mother’s hand the two horns, he said,

“ Mother, having conquered in the Mallawa wrestling, at the time when I was coming back about sixty men had come together to cut the paddy plants in a rice field.

At the hand of the men I asked,

‘What are you many men joined together there for ?’

Then the men said,

‘We are [here] to cut a paddy kayiya.’

“Afterwards, asking for the men’s sickles, 1 broke them and threw them down, and taking the betel-cutter^[10] that was in my betel wallet, descended to the field, and having cut the paddy plants, there also I got the victory.

“As I was coming away, a wild buffalo came to gore me.

Afterwards, loosening the buffalo’s two horns [I brought them away]. These indeed are the two horns.”

He told her all the matters.

Then his mother said,

“Son, except that you have said that word to me, do not say it for anyone else to hear;”

and having cooked several kinds of cakes, and milk-rice, gave them to Hitihami the Giant to eat.

North-western Province.

 

Note:

This story differs from nearly all the others in being almost certainly based on a considerable statum of fact. Apparently, it is the exaggerated tradition about a very strong man who defeated a celebrated Indian wrestler at Kandy. The story also gives more details concerning the village cultivations than any others I have met with.

Perhaps it is not the only record of this Hitihami. Among the names of the deified chiefs of ancient times, termed Ban<jara, a="" abandoned="" and="" andara-waewa="" are="" as="" at="" become="" but="" called="" centuries="" considerable="" different="" district="" doubt="" egala.="" field="" hat-pattu="" have="" having="" he="" hero="" i="" in="" is="" it="" it.="" jungle="" lived="" miles="" names="" north-east="" north-western="" of="" one="" overgrown="" p="" possible="" regarding="" said="" some="" tank="" that="" the="" there="" this="" to="" twelve="" village="" villages="" wanni="" was="" which="" who="" with="">

As Kandy was founded early in the fourteenth century, according to the manuscript Pradhana nuwarawal, the story may record events of the fourteenth, fifteenth, or possibly the sixteenth century, a.d.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Kurahan, the Tamil kurakkan, the Indian ragi (Eleusine cora-cana).

[2]:

A temporary rice-field made inside a village tank, at the edge of the water, after it has lowered considerably and left a tract of rich land exposed. Heavy crops are obtained from such fields, but they involve much labour, as the water for irrigating them must be raised from the level of that in the tank.

[3]:

This would be a field of about three and a half acres.

[4]:

Maendaewwa.

[5]:

This is often done in such fields. The water is splashed sideways with one foot, out of the shallow channels in which it stands; the man balances himself on the other leg with the aid of a staff.

[6]:

Probably Malwa in India; in the Jataka story No. 183 (vol. ii., p. 65), it is the Mallians who are referred to as well-known wrestlers.

[7]:

Umbata yanda dodu-weyanin.

[8]:

See vol. i, p. 52, foot-note. It is the Eastern form of the American “Bee.” (about four and a half acres) were ripe; there were no more.

[9]:

Bolak baenda. I have no explanation of this expression. Probably it refers to a magical spell and charm for preventing   anyone from unlawfully interfering with the crop. An instance of the employment of such a form of charm for this purpose occurred in 1901 in the Puttalam district; evidence regarding this was given in the Police Court there, and fines were inflicted on the placers of it, and were confirmed by the Supreme Court.

[10]:

Puruk dae-kaetta.