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| Wednesday, 2 June 2004 |
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Vedda folk tales: The deadly yam that killed a Vedda sister by Gamini G. Punchihewa Once upon a time in those days of yore, when the Veddas hunted game with the bow and arrow, a brother and sister after the death of their father (appochchi), had to seek another Vedda home belonging to the Morana Warge. In those days of the Veddas, the law of the jungle prevailed.
The brother's name was Handuna, while his sister's was Kairi. They were led by their faithful hunting dog Kadira. Both brother and sister set out on their desperate journey in quest of a new jungle home along the Vedda trails known to them. Birds sang merrily from the forest canopies, while the roaming elephants trumpeted shattering the stillness of sylvan solitude. No harm came to them or any other wild beast or vice-versa. They were the children of the forest. They knew the forests, its wild denizens, as they lived in peace and all harmony, co-existed with them, sans any molesting far away from the depredations of the civilized man! After a tiresome journey, brother and sister rested for a while, under the spreading bowers of a great palu tree that was heavily laden with its luscious fruits. They were cautious about this palu tree, as its fruits were the bears' delight! Jungle lore says that if you were to go under a palu tree, while the bear was up on it, it would not come down to attack man, as the bear would not give up its relishing those luscious berries which were there for its relishment with gusto. They nodded to each other reminiscing about this quaint jungle tale told to them by their ancestors. They plucked those fruits to quench their dire thirst after a wearisome journey. From their betel pouch made out of the monkey skin, Handuna took some betel leaves (pagiri kola), and arecanut (khatagedi) and shared the betel chew with his sister. As customary for the Vedda, the bow and arrow were kept against the palu tree (as a matter of fact any such forest tree), while the arrow head was stuck on the ground. That was the traditions of the Veddas when they rested for a while. Handuna removed the arrow head that was stuck to the ground and dabbed a dash of chunam-hunu on it. The Veddas obtained chuman during those wild days, by a small type of snail called as Vantekko by burning them. He offered it to his sister Kairi. She wiped the stained arrow head (with chunam), and put it in her mouth with the betel chew. Solitude of the jungle is lively, fascinating and charming, which both of them knew well as the lure of the jungle fastness. Lively because the forest reefs gave them shelter, then charming and fascinating as the forest was filled with bird songs when beautiful birds sang merrily from those tree tops! Next came with them the synchronizing of animal sounds, trumpets from elephants, sawing the roaming leopard and the baying of the deer and sambur that roamed born free. Infatuation Suddenly in the stillness of the jungle tide, some unusual emotional overture came upon Kairi. She was trying to coerce Handuna in an act of seducing him. This sudden eruption of sex provocation of her sister, Handuna could not fathom the reasons for it. In order to entice her brother, Kairi was now lying on the ground - in her nature's state her waist cloth flung away by herself, almost her tender breasts having voluptuous curvatures like the buds of a flower. Usually in the females' attire, the bosom was bare and only a cloth wrapped around it. In this wild but enticing exposure of hers, she was making covetous advances towards him and tenderly put her arms around him to coax her to indulge in sex. Then she looked at him with voluptuous eyes and softly whispered: "Brother see that pair of lovebirds fondling each other and singing sweet songs of love to each other, dear brother you and I also be like that"! This strange sexy eruption of her infatuation not only provoked Randunna, but also made him to ponder as to how she plunged herself into such suggestive behaviour towards him, he being her own brother. Randunna without any provocation towards her in a brotherly affection asked her "Naga what has happened to you to be in such unwanted behaviour towards me. Why did you make such marriage proposals, don't you know that it's taboo to have a marriage between a brother and sister?" Kairi at once came near him and she embraced him passionately. Randunna was now fuming with anger like a fire brand and bellowed at her saying: "You bitch what has happened to you?" Randunna threw her back, and then she immediately fled into the jungle. Armed with some bark of a plant (Niyanda plant), she worshipped him and said, 'Dear brother now I will tie this Niyanda patta around your waist so that we will be man and wife for ever". Randunna's furious anger was uncontrollable. He took the bow and arrow that was kept leaning against a tree and with it, he stretched the bow, piercing her tender body. She was gone for ever. He first as a Vedda custom covered her body with branches and leaves and fled away in utter disgust. Smarting in anger, he fled into the jungle labyrinth like a madman not knowing where his destination was. Suddenly another Vedda armed with a bow and arrow confronted him in great provocation and challenged him thus: "Don't you know to trespass into another's panguwa is wrongful act punishable with death?" He was about to shoot him with the bow and arrow when Randunna jumped forward and stopped him from doing so. He narrated his tale of woe how he had to kill his own sister under very strange circumstances. The wizened Vedda pondered for a while and asked him, 'Where did it happen and take me there." Randunna consented and reached the scene of tragedy, where the body remains lay partly devoured by some wild beasts. The old man asked him where he had stuck the shaft with its arrow blade. When the old Vedda was shown where the arrow blade was struck, started digging the soil from its depths he found a yam. Showing it to Randunna, he related the cause of his sister's death, thus: This is the deadly but forbidden yam that killed your sister. This yam has some unusual effects, if taken it would arouse the sexual passion of anybody be it a woman or man. When you stuck the arrow shaft with its blade on the ground it had got embedded in this yam. The arrow blade was stained with the extract of this yam and with it, chunam was dabbed on it. Your sister stained the betel leaf with this dabbed stain of the yam and it was contained in it. She chewed the cud of betel and got the stained effects of the yam". Thereafter, this deadly yam came to be known among the veddas as the "Naga Maru Ala" the yam that killed a sister. The botanical name of this Naga Maru Ala is Scilia hyacythina. It belongs to the family of Liliaceae. Many mistake this Naga Maru Ala to be Niyangala, its botanical name is Gloriosa superba. It also belongs to the family of Liliaceae. Dr. R. L. Spittel, in his 'Far Off Things' (1930), has described this tragic episode of the Naga Maru Ala, in a dramatic form. **** Back **** |
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This
sort of tradition was hand-in-glove with their other traditions and
customs. They lived in a cave as a community and were grouped according to
their respective clan or Warge.
