Indian Antiquary Vol 14

Author(s): John Faithfull Fleet, Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 97

MARCH, 1885.]
FOLKLORE IN SOUTHERN INDIA.
79
VII.-VAYALVALLAN KAIYALVALLAN. Mr. Mighty-of-his-mouth and Mr. Mighty
of-his-hands. In two adjoining villages there lived two famous men. The one was called Mr. Mightyof-his-mouth one that could accomplish wonders with words alone. The other was called Mr. Mighty-of-his-hands-one who could make no use of that glib instrument the tongue, but was able to bear burdens, cut wood, and perform other physical labour.
It so happened that they agreed to live together in the house of the Mr. Mighty-ofhis-mouth, to try and see which of them was the superior. They accordingly kept company for several months, till the great feast of the nine nights (navarátri) came on. On the first day of the feast Mr. Mighty-of-his-hands wanted to sacrifice a goat to the goddess Kafi. So he said to Mr. Mighty-of-his-mouth, "My dear friend, we both are mighty in our way, and so it would be shameful for us to buy the goat that we want to sacrifice with money. We should manage to get it without payment." “Yes, we must do so, and I know how," replied Mr. Mighty-of-his-mouth, and he asked his friend to wait till that evening.
Now there lived a shepherd at one ghatiká's (hour's) distance from their house, and the two friends resolved to go to his fold that night and steal away one of his goats. Accordingly when it was dark they approached his fold. The shepherd had just finished his duties to the mute members of his flock, and wanted to go home and have his rice hot. But he had no second person to watch the flock, and he must not lose his supper. So he planted his crook before the fold, and throwing his blanket (kamba!) over it, thus addressed it: “My son, I am very hungry, and so must go for my rice. Till I return do you watch the flock. This wood is rich in tigers and goblins (bhitas). Some mischievous thief or bhúta-or kitao may come to steal away the sheep. Watch over them carefully." So saying the shepherd went away.
The friends had heard what the shepherd said. Of course, Mr. Mighty-of-his-mouth laughed within himself at this device of the shepherd to impress upon would-be robbers 1 Vayalvallan.
Kaiyalvallan. • Thore is no such word as kita in Tamil, Tho Tami]
that he had left some one there to watch his sheep, while really he had only planted a pole and thrown a blanket over it. Mr. Mighty-of-his-hands, however, did not see the trick, and mistaking the stick to be an actual watchman sitting at his duty before the fold, spoke thus to his friend, "Now what are we to do? There is a watchman sitting in front of the fold." Thereon Mr. Mighty-ofhis-mouth cleared away his doubts by saying that it was no watchman, but a mere stick, and entered the fold with his friend.
It had also so happened that on that very night a bhúta (goblin) had come into the fold to steal away a sheep. It shuddered with fear on hearing the shepherd mention the kúta, for having never heard of the existence of lútas, it mistook this imaginary being to be something superior in strength to itself. So thinking that a kdta might come to the fold, and not wishing to expose itself till it knew well what kútas were, the bhuta transformed itself into a sheep and laid itself down among the flock. By this time the two Mighties had entered the fold and begun an examination of the sheep. They went on rejecting one animal after another for some defect or other, till at last they came to the sheep which was none other than the bhuta. They tested it, and when they found it very heavy-as, of course, it would be with the soul of the bhuta in it,--they began to tie ap its legs to carry it home. When hands began to shake it the bhúta mistook the Mighties for the kitas, and said to itself :“Alas! the kútas have come to take me away. What am I to do? What a fool I was to come into the fold !" So thonght the bhdta as Mr. Mighty-of-his-hands was carrying it away on his head, with his friend following him behind. But the bhúta soon began to work its devilish powers to extricate itself, and Mr. Mightyof-his-hands began to feel pains all over his body and said to his friend : “My dear Mighty, I feel pains all over me. I think what we have brought is no sheep!" Mr. Mightyof-his-month was inwardly alarmed at the words of his friend, but did not like to show that he was afraid. So he said, “Then put down the sheep, and let us tear open its belly, so that we shall each have only one-half of it to
and other Dravidian languages allow rhyming repetitions of a word, like this-bata-kata.