Keimingi and Hualtungamtawna
In a certain village, there lived a king who had a lovely daughter and two sons. The daughter was called Keimingi, for they were keimi or weretigers. During that time, in a neighbouring village, there was a young warrior both handsome and skilled. His name was Hualtungamtawna.
One time, Hualtungamtawna travelled to the village where Keimingi lived. There he saw Keimingi chopping firewood in their courtyard and found her very becoming. He asked those standing close by, “That young woman chopping firewood, who is she?”. The people replied, “She is our princess Keimingi.” Hualtungamtawna quickly went to his host, left his things at the house, and went to pay a visit to Keimingi. As he fell deeply in love with Keimingi, he asked the parents for her hand. The king and queen agreed, so he took Keimingi back to his village.
Hualtungamtawna already had a daughter, a young girl who lived with him. As he was also a renowned hunter, the middle wall of their house was lined with trophy heads of wild game including that of tigers.
One time, they were to slaughter a pig for a feast, so Hualtungamtawna invited his wife’s family. Keimingi’s brothers arrived and when they entered the house, they saw the center wall lined with trophies of tiger heads. On seeing the heads, many of whom were their close relatives, their hearts were filled with sorrow. Night fell and they all went to bed. Hualtungamtawna and Keimingi fell soundly asleep, but the daughter could not fall asleep. Her keimi uncles slept on the floor; thinking everyone was asleep, they began to mourn and lament at the tiger heads on the wall -
“O brother fierce and grim,
When you lived, beasts you preyed on;
Now in death, the wall you adorn,
O brother fierce and grim;
Ho firebrand sink in haste,
So we can bite Hualtungamtawna,”
went their song. On and on they sang, and the daughter heard every word and began to feel very afraid. She then called out to her father, “O father, wake up. I need to relieve myself.” Her father answered, “Go outside by yourself, there’s nothing to be afraid of.” But the daughter insisted, “I am afraid father, please take me outside.”
So her father got up and soon as they were outside, she told him everything she had heard. “Oh, is it so, do not be afraid, let us go inside,” he told her. They went inside, lit the fire, and began to hunt imaginary mice in the thatched ceiling. “There, there,” the father-daughter duo cried and kept shooting pellets. Thus, the guests could not attack Hualtungamtawna. “What is it with you both, that you are hunting mice in the middle of the night?” the keimi asked to which they casually replied, “Ah, this is our custom.”
Morning came and Hualtungamtawna said to his brothers-in-law, “All right, let us slaughter the pig. Why don’t you swift-footed young men go bring it out?” “Of course,” they replied and started chasing the pig, howling as they dashed around, running left and right. Right then, Hualtungamtawna took his bow and shot both keimi beneath their armpits and killed them.
As Hualtungamtawna killed both her brothers, Keimingi was filled with rage and began to devise ways in which her husband could die. Hualtungamtawna was aware of her intentions, and as he was also adept at witchcraft, he asked Keimingi, “Keiming, what does your heart desire the most? I shall get it for you.” Thinking this will surely lead to his death, Keimingi replied, “I desire the tusk of the ancient wild boar from the north.” “I shall get it for you,” said Hualtungamtawna, and taking his dog, he set out towards the north. Using his magic, he placed an enchantment over all the trees in the north and brought them together, all but a Phuanberh tree. Thinking he placed his enchantment over all the trees, he climbed up one of them and played a short tune. A great horde of wild boars emerged from the trees. Hualtungamtawna began to shoot them one by one with his bow, jumping from one tree to another. There was only one boar left at the end, and as he jumped to one tree, it turned out to be the Phuanberh that was not enchanted. The tree broke and he fell. Hualtungamtawna turned to his dog and said, “Run to the village and carry the news. Many people will come and they will try to carry me on a bier, but they should carry me only with great logs. They will try to carry me through the main door, but they will not be able to do so, it will be possible only if they carry me through your door. Then they will lay me down, make sure you sit on the broom, and when Keimingi tries to sweep the floor and yell, ‘Dog’, sever the sinew behind her knee,“ he instructed.
The dog ran straight to the village and gathered a great number of people. When the people arrived, they tried to carry Hualtungamtawna on a bier, but each time the timber broke. As it broke, the dog would place thatching grass on the bier, so the people wondered, “Perhaps this dog knows something, let us place some thatching grass, there must be a special reason.” They placed some thatching grass on the bier, and the wood no longer broke. When they reached Hualtungamtawna’s house, they tried to carry the bier through the front door, but the stretcher would not fit no matter how much they tried. Once more, the dog walked towards the lower part of the door and kept pacing up and down. Finally, the people said, “Wait, it looks like this dog wants us to enter through the lower part of the door.” They placed the bier through the lower part of the door and could easily carry it inside. After that, they laid Hualtungamtawna’s body out. Keimingi feigned sadness and cried over the body, but secretly she was glad and her heart joyful. A while later, Keimingi tried to sweep the floor, but the dog sat on the broom. “Dog, you’re in the way,” she cried. The dog let out one loud yelp, got up, severed the sinew behind Keimingi’s knee and quickly ran away. Then they buried Hualtungamtawna.
Hualtungamtawna’s dog was not really a dog, but a wolf. From every kill, he would leave the heart and liver next to a hnahkiah or beautyberry bush on his master’s grave.
It is said that till today, when wolves kill their prey, they always place the liver and heart next to a hnahkiah tree.