The Woman and the Beast

Jameela Ameer

Research Data

The Woman and the Beast

Description

Today, I am telling a true story from the village of Moza RangPur. It is a very famous, true story of the Khere-wala Valley Borang and the woman in this story is still alive. The woman whose story I am telling was newly married and came from a very, very poor family. The landowners of Kherewala Valley Borang asked this family to move to a place provided by them, build a canal in the land, cultivate the area, and do farming. Since they were very poor, they [had no choice but] went there and started living [in the midst of the] mounds (tibiyan) and bushes. One day the newly married woman was sitting alone among the mounds when suddenly she saw a giant lizard passing by. As she got frightened, the lizard stopped and gave her a sideways glance which terrified her even more. Thereafter the lizard went slowly away. [Subsequently] at night, she often screamed loudly. One night, despite her husband being on her side, a beast- or wraith-like creature approached her. She got terrified because the beast had a very disgusting face. She asked him: "Who are you? Are you a thief, or what kind of creature are you? What have you come to do?" The beast told her that he was a beast and that he liked her. Thereafter, her family seeked spiritual healing for the woman but the beast didn't accept leaving the women. Instead, he offered her family that whatever they wanted, he could do it for them, but the beast wouldn't leave her. [One day] her husband said: "If you don't want to leave her, then tell us what we should do so that we can increase our livelihood." [On the other side] the beast helped them a lot as the wife's husband got a government job and started earning a lot from their own land. The beast did not return frequently, but only every 4 to 6 months. Whenever the family faced any trouble or decided about whether to do anything new, they would first say [about the beast]: "When he will arrive, we will discuss it with him." They then would ask him different questions, such as: "Our crops did not grow; what should we do?" and he would advise them what to do. Now they have their own tractors and lands. As the woman did not get any children, her husband told the beast: "We want children." The beast then asked them to go to a place and visit an elderly, wise religious man to receive spiritual blessings from him. After visiting the religious person, their children were born. They now have three daughters and one son. One day, when their eldest daughter was taking a shower, an elderly person came to their home and asked for water. The woman asked him to wait, but the person replied: "I will drink the water, but I don't know if it will be destined for you or not." Then he left without drinking the water. At that moment, her daughter fell and died. Today the woman still had two daughters and one son and until now, the beast sometimes visits her as she is still alive and they have those lands and tractors.

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