Week 7 Reading Notes: Folklore of Laos, Part A

-

The Mountain Spirits and the Stone Mortars:

  • spirits needed money so brought stone mortars to village
  • people didn't want because too expensive and useless
  • spirits were angry so they wanted villagers to help bring them back to top of mountain
  • people didn't want to anger spirits but too heavy to pick up
  • people paid spirits and the stones were left in place
  • still in same spot today
Why the Lip of the Elephant Droops:

  • man and women had 12 daughters they didn't love anymore
  • father made basket of rice with ashes at bottom--led daughters to jungle to hunt for game
  • father made them try to construct bamboo water faucet, but he ditched them leaving the basket
  • daughters figured out they were abandoned and slept with wild beasts peacefully
  • women appeared and got daughters to stay with her if they could watch her daughter
  • only rule=no play secret garden
  • one day girls go to garden--find human bones (women=cannibal)
  • ask cow to protect them--all 12 jump in his mouth
  • women asked cow if he'd seen girls, he said no
  • girls went to elephant--maidens jump in, but fabric hanging out
  • women asked if he had seen girls, he said no--she knew he was lying because of the fabric--cursed elephants to have lip droop down like garment
  • great chief who wanted happiness--served others
  • 10 wives with a favorite, one day wanted her
  • came down from sky in form of fish because she was a crane
  • crane pecked at fish and found one to still be alive, but let it escape
  • chief glad she wouldn't destroy life for hunger--made a woman again
  • grew as gardener's child--most beautiful girl and people wanted her
  • chief came down to earth as old man to try to marry
  • people laughed, father shot him--lightening strike=father shooting old man
  • heat lightening=chief flashing glass over earth to search for wife
(Photo of lightening from The Origin of Lightning)

  • man and girl love each other but her dad said no--no communication
  • tried to sneak away but were constantly being watched--waited patiently because they knew it was true love
  • dad thought girl forgot about him--threw feast and tried to set her up
  • snuck out to woods to meet her lover, got married
  • servant saw and went back to dad--tried to stop them
  • only escape was to jump over chasm
  • missed and dashed to pieces by rocks below
Bibliography:  Laos Folk-Lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson, with photographs by W.A. Briggs (1899).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction to an Aspiring Dermatologist

-
Image
Hello, everyone! I figured if y'all are going to be reading my blog posts all semester that I should probably tell you a little bit about myself.  Hi! My name is Libby Helm and I am from Dallas, Texas (for all my Dallas people--I grew up in Carrollton, now I live in Coppell). My declared major is Chemical Biosciences (Pre-Med) but I have been teetering between medical school and PA school. If I decide PA--which I *think* I am leaning towards--then I will switch to a Planned Program major, which will mirror Chemical Biosciences very closely. So, yes, my major is very complicated! However, the end goal is the same: to become a dermatologist. Here is a summed up version of why: As a child I had gotten acne long before any of my peers did, while moles and freckles covered my body, as they did my father's. Earlier diagnosed with Basal Cell Carcinoma, which turned into Melanoma, my father had to undergo surgery to remove the cancer. Between the premature acne and suspicious moles, my
Read more

Week 7 Story: The Real Story of the Lovers' Leap

-
Image
  A long time ago lived a girl and a boy who were madly in love. But, like Romeo and Juliet, their families did not accept their love and forced them apart. This was due to the ancient family feud between the families (but that is another story). Of course, the lovers tried to sneak out and see each other, but they were always caught. They were miserable without each other! One day, they snuck out again and met in the woods. Just as they ran into each other's embrace, they heard shouting from not far away. They bolted together, trying to have a few more moments together. It was then that they decided to just wait patiently for the right moment. They stopped and kissed just as both fathers yanked them away. Days, months, and years went by as the lovers patiently waited for the right time to escape. It was on day 1982 that the girl's father thought she had forgotten about the boy. In celebration, he decided to throw a feast! He wanted to invite all of the other noble men in the t
Read more