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Summary (by Keita Kurabe)
Once upon a time, there was a village at upstream of a large river. One teacher from lowlands came to the village to teach children. The villagers loved him. There was a young girl named Hkawn Tawng at the village. She helped the teacher, cooking foods and washing clothes every day. The teacher fell in love with her, and they got married. The villagers built a house for them near his school. After they got married, they lived together. However, Hkawn Tawng always went outside at midnight. In the morning, she came back and sold deer meet at the market. The teacher felt like she was hiding something and, at one night, he followed her secretly. Hkawn Tawng went into a forest, and took off her clothes at a tree. She became a large tiger with a long tail, and hunted game there. The teacher was surprised, packed his luggage, and went back to lowlands. Hkawn Tawng was pregnant at that time. She gave birth a child. But she could not help but becoming a tiger every night. When the child turned 5, he asked his mother where she went every night. Although Hkawn Tawng stopped him, he followed her to the forest. In the forest, she put her son to sleep on a tree. She took off her clothes, and became a large tiger. Her son was surprised at his mother, and ran away to a pastor's house at the village. Although she called for him, her son refused to go back with her. Hkawn Tawng became a tiger, and went into the forest.
Translation (Rita Seng Mai)
The story I am going to tell is about a semidivine tigress; Hkawn Tawng. Once upon a time, there was a village near the river. The villagers from that village became semidivine tigers. The villagers turned into tigers at night. There was a teacher called Brang San. He was graduated and educated. He thought to teach children from that village. So, he went there. He built a hut and made it as school. He lived there and taught the children how to read, write and speak. The villagers admired him so much. There was a lady called Hkawn Tawng in that village. She cooked meals for him and sent a lunchbox every day. She washed the clothes of him too. Soon, Brang San fell in love with Hkawn Tawng. They said to the elders of the villagers, "We want to get married." The elders said, "That's great." Then, they had a wedding and built a house just beside the school. They lived there happily. At midnight, Hkawn Tawng went somewhere. Brang San needed to sleep alone. He didn't notice at first. But later, when he found out about that, he was surprised and had no idea where his wife was going. She came back in the morning and sold meat such as deer, rabbit at the market. He was curious about his wife's action. He decided to sneak his wife. He thought, "I wonder what she does every night. I will follow her." He pretended to sleep at night and watched her. At midnight, she got up secretly. He followed her sneakily and secretly. He saw that she was taking her clothes off under one tree in the forest. As soon as she took off her clothes, she turned into a tigress. There was a long tail on her too. Then, she started hunting some animals in the forest. He was shocked and surprised seeing her like that. Later, he went back home. He packed his clothes and decided to run away. He thought, "She is just a tigress! I didn't know she is a tigress, so I married her. But now, I can't live with her anymore. I'm scared." In the early morning, he took a boat and rowed down through Mali Hka (river). He decided not to come back to that village again. But he didn't know his wife was pregnant. Some time later, she gave birth to a baby boy. She fed her son well. But when it came at night, she turned into a tigress and hunt some preys. When the baby grew up, he asked his mother, "Mom, where do you usually go at night? You are not at home at night." She said, "I go out to find food for you." He said, "I will follow you when I am five." She said, "No, you will be afraid." He said, "No, I'm not." Hkawn Tawng said, "Okay. Then, you stay on the tree, alright?" So, he followed his mother and slept on a tree. Then, Hkawn Tawng took off her clothes and turned into a tigress. He witnessed everything. He said, "Mom, there is a tiger." But there wasn't his mother, only a tigress under the tree. He was scared and quickly climbed down from the tree. And he ran back to the village. On his way, he met a pastor. He said, "Let me live at your house. I'm scared of my mother and don't want to live with her." The pastor let him live at his house. The pastor's house was a little bit far away from Hkawn Tawng's house. Hkawn Tawng was worried because her son ran away from her. She kept finding him. Then, she got to know that her son lived at a pastor's house. So, she went there to take him back home. The pastor said to her, "You are a kind of person who turn into a tigress at night. Only you turning into a tigress is enough. Don't let your son be that kind of person. Just leave him here." The pastor gave some blessing upon her too. In the end, she went into the forest as a tigress and never came back to the village again. Since then, the villagers never got to see a tigress; Hkawn Tawng again.
Transcription (by Lu Awng)
Moi shawng de da ya hkai na maumwi a gabaw gaw sharaw nlawng hkawn tawng ngu ai re. Moi shawng de hka nu kaba na lahta de da sharaw alawng tai ai kahtawng tai ai mare langai nga ai da. Dai kaw na masha ni gaw shana re jang e shana yup tung du jang sharaw tai ai baw amyu (anoi) ngu nga ma ai da. Dai yang kaw gaw da dai sara langai mi gaw da shi mying gaw da brang san ngu sara re da. Shi gaw jawng laika loi mi chye ai majaw ma ni hpe dai kahtawng de e laika sharin ya na ngu na shi hkrai shi myit du na lung mat wa ai da. Lung mat wa re na jawng ginsum kasha galu law gap la na jawng ma ni hpe laika sharin re na dai kaw nga, jawng kaw nga dai hku na dai kaw yup dai kaw sha na nga ai da. Mare masha ni mung grai tsawra ai da. Dai hku nga nga re she dai kahtawng kaw na hkawn tawng ngu ai amyu shayi sha langai mi mung sa na shani shagu sara na matu shat si mai ni grai mu na sa jaw sha ai da. Sara ma hkawn tawng hpe grai tsawra mat wa sai da. Shi hpe e rai ni hkrut ya, shat lu sha ni lajang jaw re majaw hkawn tawng hpe e tsawra sai da. Tsawra hkat na sha 2 gaw hkungran poi galaw na ngu na mare salang ni e tsun ai shaloi gaw mai ai ngu na hkungran poi ma galaw ya re na jawng makau kaw nta gap da ya ai da. Gap da ya re shaloi gaw dai hku nga nga re yang she, dai hkawn tawng gaw da shana de yup tung lai ai hpang re yang hkawm mat mat re da, gara de hkawm ai re mung nchye hkawm mat mat, dai sara wa gaw shi hkrai sha yup na mau dung nga, mau nga rai, dai hkawn tawng gaw jahpawt re yang gaw shan ni jahkyi shan ni hpa ni, gat kaw bai sa dung dut nga da. Dai she shi gaw sara gaw lana mi n yup ai sha num ndai gaw ngai naw yu na shana gara de sa ai kun ngu na n hkrit ai sha ngai hkan nang na re ngu na lana mi gaw da shi gaw myit hpe e myit da ting da na num ndai a lam dai na ngai chye hkra galaw na ngu na she shi dai hku myit nga yang kaja wa hkying 12 jan hkying 1, 2 kaw gaw nnga sai da. N nga ai majaw shi ma hkan nang mat wa, hkan nang mat wa, hkan lagu yu re yang gaw shara mi du jang gaw shi gaw hpun langai mi kaw e shi a labu palawng ni raw taw nga ai da. Palawng ni labu ni raw kau dat ai hte gaw ningmai galu law na sharaw a lawng tai mat sai da. Sharaw tai na nam na rai ni hpe gyam hkawm nga ai da. Shaloi gaw shi dai mu ai hte gaw sara gaw hkrit na nta de wa mat sai da. Nta de wa na rai ni hpe kajang na shi gaw num ndai gaw sharaw she re nga, ngai n chye na hkungran la kau sai re, ya an 2 jawng kaw nga wa shi sharaw tai yang gaw ngai gaw hkrit sai ngu na shi gaw hprawng na hku rai ni ma shachyip kau ai da. Shachyip la na jahpawt rawt ai hte gaw shi gaw mali hka makau na mali hka nu zawn re hka kaba makau kaw na hkali hte kalang ta lawu ga de gara de du yang du ndai kahtawng kaw na gara de du yang du wa mat sa na ngu na wa mat ai da, wa mat re shaloi gaw hkawn tawng kaw gaw ma hkum rai taw nga ai da. Kasha mahkum rai she kasha hpe mung chyu atsawm sha jaw ai da, ma shangai ai hte atsawm sha re na lajang ai retim shi gaw shana ahkying du yang nam de hkawm mat mat re shi a ndai sharawng alawng n tai nmai re shi tai mayu wa wa re ai da. Dai majaw ma mung ma gaw loi kaba wa jang tsun ai da, ah nu nang gara de sa a kun na loh nu nang hpe e nu nang shana re yang n nga mat mat re le ah nu hto nang sha na matu lu sha tam hkawm ai ngu. Dai na gaw ngai ma hkan nang na ngu, shi 5 ning re shaloi gaw hkan nang na ngu sai da, hkan nang na ngu jang gaw shi kau gaw nang hkrit na re law, ngai n hkrit ai, nang hpun n tsa kaw yup nga yaw, mai ai ngu she yup taw nga, hpun ntsa kaw pin ra ra na yup taw shi kasha shayup da, re na shi gaw dai hku na labu palawng ni e bai raw re she shi kasha gaw yu taw nga da, yu taw nga yang kaja wa shi kanu wa kabu palawng ni mahkra raw ngut ai hte gaw sharaw kaba tai mat she ah nu ah nu hto sharaw sa wa ra ai ngu yang kadai mung n sa je la da, dai shaloi ma kasha dai gaw i ngai grai hkrit sai ngu na kalang ta mi na sa wa ai lam kaw hto shi kanu sharaw tai mat wa ai hpang shi gaw dai hku gat mare de wa na she hpung sara nta langai kaw wa nga sa da, ngai sara kaw sha nga sa na, nanhte kaw she nga sana, ngai nu hte nnga sai hkrit ai ngu na shi gaw nga nga ai da. Nga nga re shaloi gaw shi kasha gaw aw hpung sara kaba nta kaw sha nga mat jang gaw loi mi tsan ai shanhte nga ai nta hte hkawn tawng gaw shi kasha e tam hkawm re hpang e dai kaw yup nga ai lam hpe shi chye re jang she shi gaw shi kasha hpe sa woi ai da. Retim hpung sara wa gaw tsun ai da, nang na prat kaw nanhte na amyu dai kaw re majaw sharaw tai ai pyi ram sai, na kasha e sha gaw atsawm sha galu kabab wa u ga, nang tawn da u yaw ngu na tsun ai da. Shi gaw hto nam de sharaw tai yang tai mat wa sanu ngu sara wa gaw kyuhpyi ya ai hte maren sharaw tai na dai mare kaw na galoi mung sharaw a lawng hkawn tawng e nmu mat sai da.
Notes
1. An interlinear glossed text is available in Kurabe (2020).
2. Weretiger-lore is widely distributed in India, China and Southeast Asia (see Thomas 1911: 149–50, Wessing 1986, Rose 2001: 390–1, Newman 2012, and references therein).
References
Kurabe, Keita. 2020. Weretiger-lore of Myanmar: A folktale text in Jinghpaw. Journal of Kijutsuken 12: 1-20.
Newman, Patrick. 2012. Tracking the weretiger: Supernatural man-eaters of India, China and
Southeast Asia. Jefferson: McFarland.
Rose, Carol. 2001. Giants, monsters, and dragons: An encyclopedia of folklore, legend, and myth. New York: W. W. Norton.
Thomas, Northcote Whitridge. 1911. Lycanthropy. In Hugh Chisholm (ed.) Encyclopædia Britannica, 17, 11th edition, 149–150. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wessing, Robert. 1986. The soul of ambiguity: The tiger in Southeast Asia. DeKalb: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illinois University. |
