translated by Jasmine Patton
A long time ago, before the time of our human forefathers, all varieties of animals, fishes, birds and plants lived harmoniously with one another. They flourished in carefree abandon, not a care in the world. But then one day, there was a huge wave of darkness that enveloped the entire earth in its shadows. Once darkness took up home with the living, night and day would keep playing hide and seek for days with no fixed pattern or intervals. This interrupted all activities on the earth as darkness and daylight would come and go at their whims and fancies. This uncertainty was taking a toll on all the inhabitants of earth. It created unending whispers of worry between the animals and birds, fish and plants and all living creatures.
The birds were the wisest of the lot. They were the first to call an assembly to discuss and resolve the ‘emung[1] tona[2] wondang[3]’ crisis at hand. As the birds gathered to put their heads together, they unanimously looked at the wise Velongvu[4] and asked him to give his opinion on the best and amicable solution to the disruptive situation which had besieged their unmarred freedom. So the Velongvu stood upright and clearing his throat, he said, “Thank you my dear friends for putting your faith in me. I suggest that there should be nine days of darkness and nine days of daylight. Nine days we will welcome darkness and the next nine days we will enjoy the bright daylight.” He expected appreciation on what he thought was a prudent recommendation but instead all the birds started vociferously opposing it saying, “Hoto mek[5], hoto mek. That cannot be, that cannot be. What kind of solution is this?” The assemblage of birds was so unhappy with the Velongvu’s suggestion that they all smote him on his head. “Zhuvai[6]! If we still have to endure the long periods from each, how does it make it any better for us? This is not at all the answer to our problem,” they all echoed and continued the rhythmic ‘thwack thwack thwack thwack’, the blows kept raining on his head. The Velongvu was hit so many times that his handsome shapely head flattened out. Lothas till today speak of this story and believe that this is why Velongvus have flat heads. The Velongvu met with so much humiliation that he decided to become nocturnal, waking up only during the dark.
After rejecting the Velongvu’s unacceptable proposal, the birds started their search again, “Who will speak next? We need wise interventions. Who among us is wise enough to give us the right solution?” That is when the Sesehampong[7] volunteered saying, “Ana phyovka[8]”. All the voices silenced out at the sheer boldness of the Sesehampong. They lent their ears to listen to what the Sesehampong had to say. Sesehampong said, “Why don’t we have equal amount of daylight, followed by the same amount of darkness fitted into one day? This could be our routine, so that we never have too much nor too less of either. We need to work and we need to rest so this will meet with both our needs. And of course once this is fixed, we will be able to plan everything better.” There was a huge uproar of thumping and excitement on hearing these words. “Hoto ka, Hoto ka[9]. That is a perfect solution, Sesehampong’s suggestion is right.” The birds were so happy with the wisdom of the Sesehampong that they patted and stroked him repeatedly in gratitude. One bird would say “Hey Sesehampong, great answer. You are so wise.” Then another would congratulate him with more pats “You are everyone’s hero. Wonderful idea! We are so indebted to you”. This continued for so long that by the time all the birds had thanked and patted him, the Sesehampong who was the size of a healthy rooster reduced to a small bird. That is why, following their wise and much-admired ancestor, the current generation of Sesehampongs are as tiny as the human palm. As for us, thanks to the wise Sesehampong, now we have an orderly distribution of day and night.
Nzanmongi Jasmine Patton is a professor, a mother of three, and a passionate translator of oral history. She is the author of A Girl Swallowed by a Tree: Lotha Naga Tales Retold, Aadivani, 2017, and is currently working on a series of illustrated children’s folktales. Her book Zeno and Her Song of Naga Hills will be out in 2019.
[1] Night
[2] And
[3] Day
[4] Owl
[5] Not like that
[6] Foolish
[7] Sunbird
[8] I will speak
[9] It should be so