| Description |
Translation (Nbanpa Rita Seng Mai & Keita Kurabe)
The story I'm going to tell is about the spirit of Mount Pajau. Long ago, near Mount Pajau, there lived a young woman named Nhkum Hkawn Lung. Her hair was so long it reached her feet, and she was known for her beauty. One day, while she was gathering firewood on the mountain top, she grew tired and fell asleep. While she slept, mosquitoes from the forest bit her, and she caught malaria. As she suffered in pain, a beggar happened to pass by. "Hey, Hkawn Lung, what's wrong with you?" he asked. Hkawn Lung replied, "It's nothing." "I'm fine." "I'm just resting because I'm tired." She said that, trying to hide her illness. The beggar gave her some water and stayed to watch over her, but her condition grew worse, until finally she passed away. When she died, the villagers didn't pray for her, nor did they make any offerings. They simply wrapped her in a mat and buried her on the mountain top. After Nhkum Hkawn Lung's death, a strange illness began to spread through the villages near Mount Pajau. When someone fell sick, Nhkum Hkawn Lung's spirit appeared and drank their living blood. The sick grew weaker and weaker, and many of them died soon after. One after another, people passed away, until at last the spirit came for the village chief's daughter. Nhkum Hkawn Lung's spirit drank the daughter's blood as well. One evening, while the chief was drinking tea outside, a ball of light floated by and slipped into his daughter's room. The next morning, her condition worsened even more, and no matter what the chief tried, she could not be cured. That night, not far from the chief's house, the beggar who had once seen Nhkum Hkawn Lung on the mountain was sleeping in a small hut. As he lay there, he saw the glowing spirit enter the chief's house. Peeking inside, he saw that it was none other than Nhkum Hkawn Lung sucking the daughter's blood. Nhkum Hkawn Lung noticed the beggar too, but remembering his past kindness, she did nothing and quietly disappeared. The next morning, the chief's daughter was dead. When she died, the chief gathered all the villagers and held a grand funeral. When Hkawn Lung's spirit saw them offering pigs, cows, and chickens, she whispered, "When you die, people honor you with great ceremony," "but when I died, no one prayed for me." She sighed sadly and returned to her grave. Then she began to curse even more villagers. The beggar, who knew the whole story, thought, "This is terrible." "If this continues, the whole village will perish." He went to the chief and told him everything he had seen — that Nhkum Hkawn Lung's spirit was drinking the villagers' blood. The chief gathered the villagers and led them up to the top of Mount Pajau, where Hkawn Lung had been buried. When they dug up her grave, the mat that wrapped her body was not decayed at all, it was still clean. Her body, too, was untouched by decay, and long fangs had grown from her mouth. The people realized that because she had died with resentment, her spirit had brought misfortune upon them. To help her spirit find peace, the shaman prayed over his ritual knife, cut her body into pieces, placed it on top of a tree, and set it on fire. From that day on, the spirit of Nhkum Hkawn Lung of Mount Pajau was never seen again.
Transcription (Lu Awng & Sumlut Gun Mai)
Ya tsun na maumwi gaw "Pajau Bum Kaw Na Nat A Lam" nga ai maumwi re. Moi shawng de Pajau Bum makau kaw Nhkum Hkawn Lung ngu ai, kara mung lahkap kaw pyi du hkra re nna grai tsawm ai num kasha langai mi nga ai da. Lani mi na aten hta dai Nhkum Hkawn Lung gaw Pajau bum ntsa de hpun hta sa ai shaloi, grai ba ai hte yup malap mat ai Dai zawn yup malap taw ai shaloi gaw dai nam kaw na jigrawng ni kawa rai nna kalang ta hkali bu machyi taw mat ai da. Dai zawn nam kaw machyi taw ai shaloi, maw hpyi langai mi sha wa mu ai hte "E... Hkawn Lung, kaning hku naw nga nga ai rai?" ngu wa san yang, dai Nhkum Hkawn Lung gaw "Hpa n ra ai." "Zeng sha re." "Ba ai majaw yup la taw ai," sha ngu nna masu ai da. Maw hpyi wa mung Nhkum Hkawn Lung hpe shi kaw lawm ai hka ni sha jaw lu rai nna yu nga yang, machyi sawng wa ai hte si mat wa ai da. Dai zawn si mat ai shaloi gaw, hpa akyu hpyi ai mung n galaw, hpa u wa ni mung n sat ai sha, jahtai rau sha kayawp nna dai Pajau bum ntsa kaw sha lup kau da ai da. Dai zawn Nhkum Hkawn Lung si mat ai hpang e gaw, dai Pajau bum makau na mare hkan e gaw machyi masha ni nga hpang wa ai da. Loi machyi ai nga hte dai Nhkum Hkawn Lung nat gaw dai machyi ai masha hpe wa chyup sha sha re ai hte kade n na yang dai machyi masha gaw grau machyi sawng wa nna si mat mat re ai da. Dai zawn masha langai mi machyi si, machyi si, rai nna hpang e gaw mare salang wa na kasha kaw du sai da. Mare du wa a kasha hpe mung Nhkum Hkawn Lung nat gaw wa chyup sai da. Mare salang wa nta shinggan kaw hpa hka lu nna nga taw ai ten, dai Nhkum nat gaw wan gumdin zawn rai nna sa wa nna shi na kasha na gawk de shang mat wa nna wa chyup ai da. Hpang shani nga yang gaw dai mare salang a kasha gaw grau machyi sawng wa sai hte lawan mai wa na matu ladat amyu myu hku galaw tim, machyi sawng ai gaw n mai hkraw ai da. Dai shana gaw dai mare salang a nta hte nau n tsan ai ginsum kaw myi Nhkum Hkawn Lung naw hkrung nga yang wa mu kau da ai maw hpyi wa wa yup ai da. Dai zawn yup galeng nga yang mare salang a nta de dai Nhkum nat gaw wan gumdin zawn rai nna shang mat wa ai hpe dai maw hpyi wa mu dat ai majaw, loi bai hkan yu dat ai shaloi gaw, mare salang a kasha hpe chyup taw ai nat gaw Nhkum Hkawn Lung rai taw ai hpe atsawm sha chye kau dat ai. Dai zawn maw hpyi wa mu dat ai hpe Nhkum Hkawn Lung nat gaw chye dat ai rai tim, shi hpe garum lai wa ai maw hpyi re majaw hpa n galaw ai sha wa mat wa ai. Hpang shani gaw dai mare salang a kasha gaw machyi grau sawng wa ai hte si mat ai da. Mare salang wa mung kasha si mat ai hte mare ting hpe shaga la nna si poi kaba galaw ai. Wa ni, nga ni, u ni sat nna galaw ai hpe dai Nhkum Nat mung bai wa yu nna "Aw... nanhte si yang poi kaba ni galaw." "Ngai si yang gaw hpa poi mung n galaw," ngu nna myit n dik ai hte sha shi na lup wa de wa nna, kaga masha ni hpe bai matut chyup sat na hku hkyen nga ai da. Dai zawn byin ai lam ni yawng hpe chye ai maw hpyi wa gaw "Ndai hku gaw n byin sai." "Anhte mare masha ni yawng si htum mat wa hkyen sai," ngu nna mare salang wa hpe ndai zawn re nna mare masha ni si ai gaw Nhkum Hkawn Lung nat wa chyup chyup re ai majaw re ai lam shi mu ai hpe tsun dan dat ai da. Dai shaloi jang, mare salang wa gaw shi na mare masha ni hpe shaga la nna Nhkum Hkawn Lung hpe lup da ai shara, Pajau bum ntsa de lung mat wa ai hte mang hpe bai htu shaw dat ai shaloi gaw, dai Nhkum Hkawn Lung hpe kayawp da ai jahtai mung hpa pyi n tsam shi ai hte akaja sha naw rai taw ai. Dai Nhkum Hkawn Lung a mang mung hpa n hten taw ai sha n-ga, wa akawng pyi naw galu law rai nna byin taw ai hpe mu ai da. Dai majaw, mare salang hte mare masha ni gaw Nhkum Hkawn Lung myit n dik ai hte si mat wa ai majaw byin ai re lam hpe maram lu ai hte, nat byin nga ai kaw na lawt mat na matu dai Nhkum Hkawn Lung a mang hpe jahtai hte kayawp da ai hpe dumsa ni shaman da ai nhtu hte azat chyu azat nna hpun grang ntsa kaw atsawm mara nna nat kau ai da. Dai shaloi kaw na Pajau bum kaw Nhkum Hkawn Lung ngu ai nat n nga mat wa ai re da. |
