Mauruangi
Once upon a time, there lived a couple in a village. They had a little daughter named Mauruangi whom they doted upon. One day, the couple went to the forest to fetch a type of bamboo called pumphir. On the way, they had to cross an old and rickety bridge and the husband said, “When we return, whoever is afraid to cross the bridge will be pushed down into the water.” The husband packed a light load for himself while his wife had to carry a heavy load. When they arrived at the bridge, the wife was afraid to cross it, so her husband pushed her into the water and she turned into a giant catfish or Thaichhawninu.
Seeing her father return alone, Mauruangi asked where her mother was. The father answered she was washing his head scarf in the river. Later he said she was washing clothes. As she did not return even after nightfall, her father told her the truth. Mauruangi was inconsolable. The next day, Mauruangi tried to start the fire but all the embers in the fireplace had gone out. She went to her neighbour’s house (a widow with a daughter named Bingtaii who was about the same age as Mauruangi) to ask for an ember, but the widow replied she would give the ember only if her father promised to marry her.
By and by, Mauruangi’s father married the widow. Initially, the stepmother was very kind to Mauruangi but soon began to ill-treat her while indulging her own daughter Bingtaii. Mauruangi was made to do all the chores and was given rice husk to eat. The poor girl grew thinner by the day.
One day Mauruangi went to the river. Her mother Thaichhawninu appeared and seeing how thin and gaunt Mauruangi was, she fed her a meal of rice and meat. Whenever she missed her mother, Mauruangi would go to the river. Soon her stepmother noticed how Mauruangi looked healthy despite the cruel treatment meted out to her. She sent her daughter Bingtaii to spy on her. When the stepmother learned of the fish, she forced her husband to call the entire village to go fishing and catch the Thaichhawninu.
Mauruangi went to the river ahead and told her mother to run in the opposite direction every time she called out. Because of this, the villagers could not catch the catfish. Finally, they gagged Mauruangi and then easily caught the fish. The whole village feasted on Thaichhawninu, but Mauruangi refused to partake. Instead, she collected the heart and bones as advised by her mother earlier. She put the bones in an earthen jar and buried the heart in a moss-laden mound. Three days later, she opened the jar and the bones had turned into fine crimson beads. On seeing the shiny beads, Bingtaii was filled with envy. But when she took the beads from Mauruangi, they turned into lumps of coal in her hands.
The heart grew into a large Phunchawng or silk-cotton tree laden with nectar-filled blossoms. Whenever Mauruangi felt hungry, she would go to the tree and sing:
O mother, bend down ever so gently,
Mother Phunchawng Darhniangi,
O mother, bend down ever so gently.
Mother Phunchawng Darhniangi,
O mother, bend down ever so gently.
At her song, the flower-laden branches would bend down and Mauruangi would drink nectar from the flowers. Soon the stepmother noticed Mauruangi became healthier and through her daughter Bingtaii, she soon found out about the tree. She persuaded the husband to cut down the tree. When he tried to chop down the tree with the neighbours, Mauruangi began to sing:
O mother, hold fast,
Mother Phunchawng Darhniangi,
O mother hold fast.
Mother Phunchawng Darhniangi,
O mother hold fast.
At her song, the tree held fast and would not fall. Whenever they cut the trunk, the space would fill up again. Like before, they gagged Mauruangi and they easily felled the tree.
Time passed and Mauruangi and her stepsister Bingtaii grew up. Old enough to cultivate crops, the stepmother gave them seeds to sow. She gave the best seeds to Bingtaii while Mauruangi received only worm-ridden ones. Despite this, Mauruangi worked hard in the fields while Bingtaii roasted the seeds and lazed around all day. Naturally, her field was overgrown with weeds while Mauruangi’s field thrived and yielded good crops.
One day, the servants of vai lalpa (lord of the plains people) were passing by. They were in search of a bride for their master. Hungry from their travels, they asked for cucumbers from Mauruangi’s field and she generously gave them the juiciest ones. Pleased at her hospitality and gentle demeanour, the servants asked if she would be willing to become the wife of their master. Knowing her stepmother would never allow her to get married, Mauruangi instructed the servants to ask for Bingtaii’s hand, but to take her instead once they reached the outskirts of the village.
In the evening, vai lalpa’s servants came and asked for Bingtaii’s hand. The stepmother was beside herself with joy while belittling Mauruangi for not being able to find a husband like her sister. As the wedding party left, they carried Bingtaii on a litter while Mauruangi followed as if to see them off. Once they reached the outskirts of the village, the men threw Bingtaii into the bushes and carried Mauruangi instead. Bingtaii went back to the village, bruised and in tears.
Vai lalpa was very pleased to see Mauruangi and they got married and lived happily. Bent on taking revenge, the stepmother asked Mauruangi to return home as they wanted to slaughter a pig for her. Unaware of her stepmother’s real intention, Mauruangi went home. Feigning affection, the stepmother asked Mauruangi to comb her hair one day. She pretended to drop her quill and sent Mauruangi under the house to look for it. While Mauruangi was searching for the quill, the stepmother poured boiling water on her and she died. She threw her body out in the bushes and a Saza (Serow) found her. The Saza brought her back to life to care for his child. However, one of her big toes turned into a bird and flew away.
When Mauruangi did not return, vai lalpa sent his retainers to bring back his wife. Despite their protests, the stepmother convinced the servants to carry Bingtaii back, insisting she was their master’s wife. On the way, the bird flew behind the lord’s retainers and sang:
Don’t carry her, don’t carry her
She’s Bingtaituki
Not Mauruangi
Dump her bottom up and down
She’s Bingtaituki
Not Mauruangi
Dump her bottom up and down
At this, the men would bump the litter on the ground. Bingtaii cursed the little bird but could do nothing. On reaching home, the master knew she was not his wife for her face was too round, and her nose too wide and red. To test her skills, he gave her a loin loom. Bingtaii could not weave at all, so the bird showed up again and sang:
Those strands from the top, put them down below
Those strands from the bottom, bring them up above
I say ir iak ir iak e.
Those strands from the bottom, bring them up above
I say ir iak ir iak e.
Bingtaii tried to hit the bird with her themtleng but the bird kept flitting away. As she could not weave at all, they put the loom away.
One day, vai lalpa’s servants were passing through the forest when they heard a familiar voice singing a song. Thinking it sounded like their old mistress, they ventured closer and saw Mauruangi rocking the serow’s baby to sleep:
Long ago, long ago,
Was I a wife of a vai lal;
But now, but now,
Master Serow’s nursemaid I am;
Ai i e u aw e.
Was I a wife of a vai lal;
But now, but now,
Master Serow’s nursemaid I am;
Ai i e u aw e.
Surprised to see their mistress, the men addressed her and Mauruangi narrated her entire story. When they tried to take her back, she asked them to get permission from her master the Saza. When the Saza came home, he was afraid of the men and refused to enter. But when they entreated him with friendly tones, the Saza entered. They offered money to the Saza and asked for his permission to take their mistress home, but the Saza refused to take the money. Instead, he asked for a bunch of bananas which they willingly gave and took Mauruangi home with them.
Vai lalpa was very happy to see Mauruangi. To get rid of Bingtaii, he asked the women to fight a duel and promised to be with the winner. He covered Mauruangi with a thick blanket and gave her a sharp sword while he wrapped Bingtaii in a thin cloth and gave her a blunt sword. Mauruangi asked her sister to strike her first and Bingtaii did so. But she could not cut her at all. Then Mauruangi attacked and killed Bingtaii with the sharp sword. Once more, Mauruangi and vai lalpa lived together happily.
