DT: THLADO 16, 2013 RE-READING CHEMTATTEPU’S TALE (An extract from the forthcoming book entitled “Selected Mizo Folktales: Re-reading in the context of modernization and globalization). - Lal Dena Once upon a time, there lived a man called Chemtattepu. One day he went to the jungle to hunt. When he reached a stream, he saw a whetstone and began to sharpen his dao. As he was sharpening his dao, a prawn came and bit his testicles. In anger, Chemtattepu cut off a bamboo nearby and the gourd on the top of the bamboo fell and hit the hip of a wild fowl. Outraged, the wild fowl scratched the nest of red ants. The angry ants then bit the testicle of a wild boar. In agony, the wild boar ran amuck and felled the wild plantain where a bat lived. Having no place to live, the bat flew into the ear of an elephant. The angry elephant then destroyed the house of a widow. The widow got angry and then defecated at the source of the village pond. The whole villagers were very angry with the widow. They asked her why she had defecated at the source of the pond. In self-defence, the widow said that she did so because the elephant destroyed her house. When the elephant was asked why he destroyed the widow’s house, he said that he did it because the bat flew into his ear. The bat then said that he flew into the ear of the elephant because the wild boar felled the wild plantain where he lived. The villagers now summoned the wild boar and the latter said that it was because the red ants bit his testicle. The red ants came forward and told the villagers that they bit the wild boar’s testicle because the wild fowl scratched their nest. The wild fowl said that the gourd at the top of the bamboo fell and hit her hip. The gourd then explained that Chemtattepu felled the bamboo where it lived. Chemtattepu was then made to appear before the villager court. He told them that he cut off the bamboo because the prawn bit his testicles. At last, the prawn was caught and asked to explain why he bit Chemtattepu’s testicles. The prawn muttered, “Ih! Ih! Ah!” for he had no one to blame. He was thus found guilty and was to be punished for his crime. He told the villagers, “You can punish me in two ways – either you put me into the fire or drop me in a deep pool. If you put me into a fire, I shall turn red. And if you drop me in a pool, I shall turn black.” Not knowing what would be the more befitting punishment, the villagers decided to drop the prawn into the pool. The prawn soon swam away and took shelter under a stone inside the water. The villagers tried their utmost to drive out the prawn with the stem of hnathiel ((a wild plant about three feet high; its leaf is commonly used for packing food). The angry prawn cursed the stem, saying, “Let the stem by which you poke me about burst out on its top end.” Till today, you will see this particular full-grown hnathiel bursting out on its top end. Prima facie, the story is quite simple. But on closer scrutiny, it is a very meaningful story. On the significance of the story, L.Keivom, my maternal uncle and soul-mate in this journey of life, has put forward the following points: first, the story is circumferential having a beginning and an end. What seems impossible is made possible in the story. Secondly, in any story or drama, the hero or the heroine is normally a leading character. But in this Chemtattepu’s story, the owner of the story occupies the same proportion of roles as the other characters. All their actions are interconnected and are equally dealt with. Thirdly, from this story we catch a glimpse of the world, the background and the ecological surroundings of the Mizo ancestors, animals, trees, plants, creepers and insects. The prawn represents the animals living in the water, red ants the smallest insect on earth, wild fowl two footed animals on earth, bat flying creatures in the sky, wild boar the four footed animals and elephant the biggest animals on earth. The red ant, the smallest insect, and the elephant, the biggest animal, may not be proportionate in their physical structure and appearance; but their actions have equal reactions. The reader will immediately know from the background of the insects, animals and man, that the story did not originate from Siberia or London, but grew out of the soil of Zoram. Fourthly, the title holder of the story is shabbily dressed with a piece of cloth hardly covering his waist and a bag hanging across his shoulder. That speaks volumes of the state and stage of society and economy in which Chemtattepu lived. We can therefore conclude that the story evolved well before our forefathers came to this part of North East India. Fifthly, the way the prawn bit Chemtattepu’s testicles and the manner in which Chemtattepu showed his anger by cutting down the bamboo nearby clearly reflects the mentality and temper of the average Mizo. Sixthly, the way the case was investigated, the process of fact-finding and the way the punishment was meted out against the culprit seems to suggest that the society was corruption-free and the village court also had well-formulated health and sanitation laws. Of course, in every human society, inequality is there because man is born unequal. But the story shows that the high and the low were all given equal treatment in the village of Chemtattepu. No favouritism, no nepotism. Lastly, history is a study of the cause of causes and how one cause has chain reactions in others. The story of Chemtattepu is an ideal model for illustration of the historiography of history. Now coming to the case and the village court: When the Day of Judgment came, the prawn had none to blame for what he did. The prawn, like Adam, perhaps wanted to taste the forbidden fruit and gain the knowledge of good and evil. After all, the Creator certainly did not make man’s body to be eaten by prawns. It was also not Chemtattepu’s intention to draw the prawn’s attention to that particular part of his body. Fully engrossed in what he was going to do in the jungle, he was just sharpening his dao in a stream. On the other hand, forgetting that he was purposely made to live in water and to look for food elsewhere in water, the prawn trespassed outside the water and thus committed the crime what can be called the Mizo Genesis. But in the prawn’s defense, it must be said that Chemtattepu was guilty of negligence in not covering his testicles properly, which is a matter of great concern. And it must be said that the prawn loved justice. Adam did not tell a lie in the Garden of Eden; but the excuse he made, according to God’s judgment, amounted to telling a lie. The prawn, on the other hand, just admitted his own mistake and was ready to suffer for what he had done. Instead of blaming Chemtattepu, he requested the village authorities to execute a befitting punishment on him. In committing the crime, and knowing fully that he was the genesis of the whole trouble, the prawn calmly admitted his guilt and was ready to face the consequences. The prawn is thus to be highly admired. The world loves justice, but she condemned the prawn who did not make any excuses. Men of this world glorify people who are good at making excuses and manipulating laws to suit their own interests. By making wanton use of excuses, they enjoy life. So justice and righteousness are trampled upon and greedy people are in the seat of authority. When we get angry, why don’t we look at ourselves first? Why do we seek excuses and blame others? Why didn’t Chemtattepu encounter the prawn openly? Had he confronted the prawn in the beginning, the whole trouble could have been avoided. In the end, the prawn readily accepted his crime and was prepared to face the consequences. But man always behaves in ways he should not. Chemtattepu misdirected his anger and inflicted unnecessary suffering on the innocent. That suffering begot another suffering and the process of that suffering continued till it came full cycle. Men in society need each other; if one man suffers, the whole society suffers. As the bamboo where the gourd hung was cut off, the gourd suffered. Finding no support to cling on to, the gourd had no other alternative but to fall down. As the gourd could not fly, it had no option but to fall and, in the process fall and hit the hip of the wild fowl. In this way the cycle of trouble started and worsened. The angry Chemtatrawta’s failure to confront the culprit directly had serious repercussions. Trouble after trouble followed. At last even the widow, however insignificant she might be, became the subject of talk in the village for the serious crime she had committed of defecating at the source of the village pond. The insignificant and obscure widow came to commit a crime of great magnitude thereby jeopardizing the health and sanitation of the people of the whole village. Under these circumstances, investigation of the crime, trial of the case, and framing of charge-sheet became immediate agenda items before the judges of the village court. The Day of Judgment came and all the culprits were summoned, cross-examined one after another and charge-sheet was framed against the proven culprit. All of them pleaded innocence and justified their actions. All those actions which are acceptable to us are counted as justifiable and those actions which are unacceptable to us are condemned as sin. There is no clear cut boundary between justice and evil. This is the guiding spirit and main determinant of human life. Wherever there is self-justification, there is no scope for reconciliation. So long as a man thinks that he is right, he keeps on doing the same thing with the least concern for what others think about him. Human life just rotates within the orbit of self-justification or excuses. Even nations behave within the parameter of Chemtattepu’s justice. The story of Chemtattepu teaches us to first deal with the beam in our eyes instead of caring for a needle in someone else’s eye. From the story of Chemtattepu, we thus learn that evil only begets evil and violence begets only violence. The above analysis of Chemtattepu’s story is based on the write-ups and comments of L.Keivom’s Chemtatrawta in Bawktlang Thawnthu, Aizawl, 1997, pp.98-106 and R.Lalzarmawia’s Chemtatrawta Thufing in Zing Zaifim, A Compilation of Vanglaini Bihchianna, Aizawl, 2008, pp.138-143. (Lal Dena, +919402789963) Knowing is power, understanding is wisdom.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Jun 2013 18:29:33 +0000
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