Folklore Weaver

On the banks of the Ganges, a monkey lived in a rose-apple tree. The rose-apples were delicious and plentiful. While he was eating them with obvious relish one day, a crocodile came out of the river, and the monkey threw down a few rose-apples and said, 'These are the best rose-apples in the world. They taste like nectar' The crocodile chomped on them and found them truly wonderful. The monkey and the crocodile became friends, and the crocodile took to visiting the monkey every day to eat the fruit of that wonderful tree and to talk in its shade. One day the crocodile went home and took some of the fruit to his wife. "These are wonderful. They taste like nectar. Where did you get them?' asked the wife. He said, 'From a tree on the banks of the Ganges.' 'But you can't climb the tree. Did you pick them up from the sands?" 'No, I've a new friend who lives in the tree, a monkey. He throws them down for me and we talk.' 'Oh, that's w...

Today I would like to share a story about how a clever and mischievous trickster figure felt that light must be brought to the world for the benefit of all. A tale that tells us that even in darkness, cleverness and compassion can bring light. Long ago, before the world knew light, everything was swallowed by darkness. There was no sun to warm the land, no moon to guide the night, and no stars to inspire wonder. The people lived in the pitch black, groping through life, never knowing that light even existed. But light did exist, locked away in a distant lodge by a powerful and selfish chief. He possessed three sacred boxes: one held the stars, another the moon, and the last, the mighty sun. These he kept hidden deep inside his home, hoarding them like treasures, refusing to share their beauty or warmth with the world. Watching from the shadows was Raven, a shapeshifter, a trickster, and a spirit being of immense intelligence. He was moved by the people's suffering. Though Raven oft...

Once upon a time there was a boy in a village whose mother had died when he was young. After some time, the father married again in order to have a helpmate for himself a well as to provide a mother for his young son. But unfortunately for the little boy, the stepmother took an intense dislike to the boy from the very beginning and began to ill- treat him. She assigned him difficult chores hut gave him very little food, which was also inferior in quality. But most of this went unobserved by the father who was almost always away at his paddy field far away from home. And though, sometimes, he detected signs of unhappiness in his son, he soon forgot to ask his son because the woman was cunning and he was completely under her charm and domination. (The Ao-Naga tribe of Nagaland have always practised the shifting form of cultivation. According to the cycle, a farmer maintains two fields, the previous year's field where he grows mainly rice and the current year's field where, beside...