| Description |
Translation (Rita Seng Mai)
The story is about Nangbya, who pretended like he had eye disease. The villagers didn't like Nangbya because he lied to everyone. The villagers thought, "We should do something. We shouldn't get lied to by Nangbya all the time. Let's kill him." Then, they weaved a huge basket. When they finished weaving it, they all caught Nangbya. Nangbya was firmly tied. They put him in the basket and hooked it on the tree above the river. The next day, the herdsmen and their rich boss walked pass near that tree. They all had got eye disease. The rich man asked Nangbya, "Hey! Why are you on the tree?" Nangbya said, "Oh, I am curing my eyes because I was infected a kind of eye disease. The steam of this river can cure it." The rich man said, "You don't seem like you have a disease at all. Why are you still on the tree?" Nangbya said, "It's recovering." The rich man said, "I think our eye disease is worse than yours. Can you help us sit inside in the basket?" Nangbya kept lying, "Wait a minute. My eyes are not fully recovered yet. I will climb down when they are completely recovered." The rich man said, "No. You look totally fine. See! My vision is poorer than yours. Let me sit inside it." Nangbya said, "Then, help me climb down from the tree first. Each of you need to have a basket to sit inside it." So, they weaved baskets for all of them. After that, Nangbya hooked all of them on the tree. He took all of the buffaloes and went back home happily. When he was at home, the villagers were surprised to see him and asked, "Nangbya, how did you get all of those buffaloes?" Nangbya said, "I picked them up in the river. There are lots. Just take a rope and catch them. Let's go to catch them tomorrow." The villagers were greedy for the buffaloes and agreed to go there. The next morning, they went to the lakes where there was a huge rock in the middle of them by raft. When they reached there, Nangbya stood behind the rock while the others were standing each side of the rock. So, they couldn't see him well. Nangbya said, "I'll plunge into the water first. When you hear a loud splash, hold your rope tight and dive in. The ones who like white buffaloes need to dive into the white lake, and people who want black buffaloes need to plunge into the black lake." Then, he took one big stone and threw it into the water. The villagers thought Nangbya plunged into the lake. So, they all plunged into the lake too. But one child didn't dive into the water. Then, Nangbya said, "Why aren't you plunging into it? The villagers are struggling to tie the buffaloes. Go help them." He pushed him into the lake. And he went back to the village. When he got back home, he said to the villagers who didn't go with him to the lake, "Tonight, villagers who are catching buffaloes will be late. Prepare fermented rice liquor, eggs and sticky rice and put a crab under the cup as well. And put all of them in front of your houses. If the crab is moving noisily, it means they (nat spirits) came to eat the food." The villagers were scared and didn't dare to go outside at night. Then, Nangbya ate all the food the villagers put outside their houses. Since men went to catch buffaloes, there were only women and children left in the village. When they heard the noisy sound, they were scared out of their wits. The next morning, they asked Nangbya, "Our husbands went to catch buffaloes, but they didn't come back till today. What happened to them?" Nangbya said, "Your husbands didn't know how to catch buffaloes, so all of them drowned and died."
Transcription (Lu Awng)
Nangbya wa myi li li masu ai lam ndai gaw. Nangbya wa hpe mare masha ni yawng grai n ra sai da, ndai mi na hte bung ai. Grai nra sai da, langai hpe masu, langai hpe masu mare masha ni gaw myit sai. Nangbya wa hpe anhte gaw ndai hku sha da gaw nmai sai. Dai majaw anhte gaw shi hpe sat kau ga ngu hku re nga. Ka kaba langai wa, ka laba langai wa re yang she ka kaba langai wa sai hku re nga, ka kaba langai wa re yang she ka wa ngut re nangbya wa e shanhte mare ting pawng rim. Hka kau na hpun ndung langai kaw sumri hte noi da sai hku nga. Sumri hte noi da sumri ning re sumri, shi hkrai lung wa gaw n mai re hku nga. Dai she hpang gaw nga dun ai la ni bai lai wa sai da dai kaw na nga lauban wa gaw myi machyi na hku re nga. Dai she re sai, nga dun ai lauban wa ni gaw hay hkau e nang hpa rai dai hpun dung kaw noi nga ndai ta? E ngai mo myi machyi mat na loh, myi yawng machyi mat na myi n mu myi yawng hkyeng mat ai, dai majaw nang ndai kaw bungtsin sa shalawt ai. Ndai hpun kaw na ndai shara kaw na bungtsi hte myi machyi ai mai mat ai ngu hku re nga. Lauban wa mung myi machyi ai mai mayu di nang hpe yu yang gaw myi pyi n machyi nga sai le, myi pa n machyi nga le, nang kaning re dai kaw noi nga. E ya ngai loi mai wa ai she re lo ngu hku re nga. Um nang hta ngai grau sawng ngai hpe she dai kaw noi rit lo ngu da. E ngai n mai shi ai ngai loi naw ra ai lo ya ngai asan nga jang she nang mai ai ya ngai n san shi ai loh ngu da. Nre law nang gaw loi mai, nang hpe yu yang hpa pyi nra sai lo ngu na nang ngai dai ram hkyeng taw nga ai ngai hpe she di rit lo ngu hku nga. Deng gaw nanhte dai ram she lajin yang mung ngai e naw shayu yu nanhte, shayu re shi gaw yawng ka langai hpra hpra wa mu ngu da. Yawng ka langai hpra hpra wa myi li yawng kaw kap mat ai majaw dai lauban hpe mung dai kaw noi da. Yawng hpe dai kaw yawng hpun dung kaw noi da di shi gaw nga sha gau la re di wa sai hku nga. Shi gaw mare kaw na tsawm ra tsan ai sadi kau na hku nga, reng gaw masha ni gaw tsun sai da. Woh deng nangbya wa gaw deng nga sumpum wa she lu wa nga le. Mare masha ni gaw yawng kajawng sai da, si u ga ngu di hpun kaw noi da ai nangbya wa deng nga sumpum mi she gawt di wa nga ai le e. Nangbya wa nang nga dai gara kaw na lu la ai ma ngu san sai hku nga, san san rai nangbya wa gaw e ndai gaw ngai hka sai sai la ai re, hka kaw na sai la ai re, nga grai nga ai ngu da. Sai la ai she re, yawng nga ra sai deng gaw sumri sha ra sai nanhte sumri sha la sa mu ngu ai da. Hpawt de rawt ga ngai rau ngu hku nga, mai ai ngu, sa sai da. Sa di laing hkrai manu mana kaba ai kaw wawn hte rawt kap re di she manu mana kaba ai lunghkrung langai kaw re na hku nga, hka laing dai laing ntsa kaw hka hpunla ja re kaw nangbya wa tsun ai da. Ya shi gaw nang laing de shi nang de tsap yang nang de na ni n mu sai, ya ngai ndai maga de ngai shawng hpunglim na. Ngai brawng nga hte nanhte mung tinang na sumri lang di yawng hka de gumhtawn mu yaw ngu da. Nga pyraw ra ai gaw hka laing de gumhtawn, nga chyang ra ai wa gaw hka laing chyang ai de gumhtawn mu yaw ngu sai hku nga. Nangbya dai kaw na n lung kaba langai la di hka de brung shanhte nmu ai shaloi kabai kau dat ai da. Nangbya wa nga rim gumhtawn sai nga di yawng hprung gumhtawn sai hku nga. Gumhtawn dai ma langai mi n gumhtawn di nga nga ai hku nga, dai wa hpe nangbya wa gaw nang kaning re nga taw hto masha ni hka kata de nga gyit yak taw nga yang nawng di bang kau dat ai da. Kanawng di bang kau re she nangbya wa shawng du wa ai da, mare shawng wa di. E dai na gaw oh ra ni nga dun ai majaw jan du na re yaw. Nga dun ai majaw jan du na re dai majaw nanhte shanhte wa yang na matu nanhte dai nta chyinghka shinggan de tsa pa ma, u di ma shan n baw ni atsawm lu na sha na galaw da mu ngu, re na kankawp lap langai kaw ndai ntsa kaw jahkan dun da mu, shanhte shara yang shanhte dai wa sha sai ga re yaw ngu. Hkrit sai da oh ra ni gaw nsin re yang gaw shanhte n mu hku nangbya wa dai ni yawng la sha kau da. La sha kau re di, kankawk kup kaw oh ra jahkan tawn da ai nga shana tup shara sai le shana tup dai nga oh ra ni gaw le yu hkrit na hku re nga. Grawp grawp nga nta la wa ngan yawng nga dun sa sai re nga num ma ni hte ma ni sha nga, le yu hkrit dai hpang jahpawt gaw mare masha ni gaw tsun sai da. Nta masha ni gaw madu jan ni gaw e nangbya wa deng nang gaw nga dun sa na nga di anhte nta ni yawng hpe saw mat ai. Ndai ni ya du hkra nga ndun wa nga le ngu tsun ai da. Nangbya wa gaw nanhte nta na ni hka kata de nga rim n chyoi di nga rim ai kaw n chyoi di hka de yawng si mat sa ngu dai kaw ngut mat ai da.
Notes:
1. Nang Bya is a popular trickster in Kachin folktales, who are a person or an animal that always lies and teases others. It is known by the names of Nang Bya, Mang Bya, Mawng Byaw, and others depending on dialects and languages.
2. For more stories about Nang Bya, see:
KK1-0027
KK1-0028
KK1-0072
KK1-0233
KK1-0234
KK1-0296
KK1-0297
KK1-0326
KK1-0339
KK1-0364
KK1-0475
KK1-0549
KK1-0640
KK1-0709
KK1-0735
KK1-0973
KK1-1209
KK1-1210
KK1-1286
KK1-1379
KK1-1462
KK1-1711
KK1-1785
KK1-1786
KK1-1788
KK1-1789
KK1-1790
KK1-1791
KK1-1792
KK1-1793
KK1-1794
KK1-1795
KK1-1798
KK1-1855
3. See Kurabe (2018) for a story of Mang Bya.
References
Kurabe, Keita. 2018. A Jinghpaw folktale text: A liar Mang Bya. Journal of Kijutsuken 10: 69-80. |
