Reading Notes: Folklore of Laos, Part A
Why the Lip of the Elephant Droops
Source: Laos Folk-Lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson, with photographs by W.A. Briggs (1899).
This story is very interesting to me because it is another "why" story. I really enjoy these stories because the imagination you can have with these stories are endless.
There was a family that consisted of a husband, wife, and their twelve daughters. The family was very poor and the parents no longer desired their children. One day, the dad called his daughters to go into the jungle and hunt for game with him. While out hunting, the father ordered each of the daughters to retrieve water with a bamboo joint in which he gave them. The bamboo joints were made so that they would not hold water and the daughters continued to try and retrieve the water. During this time, the father left the girls in the jungle and headed home. However, he left only a basket filled with mashed and rice in the jungle. The daughters returned to where they had left their father and found the basket with rice and ashes in it and they knew that their parents were leaving them in the jungle. The daughters could not find their way out of the jungle so they went to sleep. When they woke up, there was a beautiful woman standing near them and they went to her and asked for help. The woman replied to them to come home with her and play with her daughter and in return she would provide them with a house. The woman gave the daughters strict instructions that they could play everywhere except for in the small garden. One day, the daughters decided to go into the small garden and found human bones in it and realized the woman was a cannibal. They ran away and ran into a cow. The cow opened its mouth and the daughters jumped in and the cow took them far away from the woman's house. Then the girls ran into an elephant and asked it for help. The daughters jumped in the elephant's mouth, but one of their garments hung out of the elephant's mouth. The elephant ran into the cannibal and she asked him if he had seen the twelve daughters. The elephant answered no even though the garment was hanging out of his mouth. Now it is a curse upon the elephant that its lip hang down.
Source: Laos Folk-Lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson, with photographs by W.A. Briggs (1899).
The enchanted mountain stories are told by hunters who have traveled all around the mountain. They have climbed the hills, made their way through the jungle, and walking into the deep ravines.
On the mountain there is a beautiful lake. If you drink out of this lake you are no longer aweary. The water from this lake makes your body come to life and feel more vigorous that ever. The flowers that surround this lake are growing abundantly and possess bright colors. The fruits around the lake are growing larger than normal and at very fast rates. The trees, bushes, and greenery are all of beautiful colors and have large leaves. There are great fields of rice and other crops that continue to grow through all seasons. The fowls that live on this mountain cannot be killed by a hunters arrow. Instead of piercing the skin, the arrow just falls to the ground and the fowl is not just. All of the hunters who go the this mountain to hunt or kill animals always return to their homes empty handed. At the top of the mountain there is a lake with cool waters where the fowls swim and drink. The grain and fruit ripen for those who are loved of the spirits.
Source: Laos Folk-Lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson, with photographs by W.A. Briggs (1899).
This story is very interesting to me because it is another "why" story. I really enjoy these stories because the imagination you can have with these stories are endless.
There was a family that consisted of a husband, wife, and their twelve daughters. The family was very poor and the parents no longer desired their children. One day, the dad called his daughters to go into the jungle and hunt for game with him. While out hunting, the father ordered each of the daughters to retrieve water with a bamboo joint in which he gave them. The bamboo joints were made so that they would not hold water and the daughters continued to try and retrieve the water. During this time, the father left the girls in the jungle and headed home. However, he left only a basket filled with mashed and rice in the jungle. The daughters returned to where they had left their father and found the basket with rice and ashes in it and they knew that their parents were leaving them in the jungle. The daughters could not find their way out of the jungle so they went to sleep. When they woke up, there was a beautiful woman standing near them and they went to her and asked for help. The woman replied to them to come home with her and play with her daughter and in return she would provide them with a house. The woman gave the daughters strict instructions that they could play everywhere except for in the small garden. One day, the daughters decided to go into the small garden and found human bones in it and realized the woman was a cannibal. They ran away and ran into a cow. The cow opened its mouth and the daughters jumped in and the cow took them far away from the woman's house. Then the girls ran into an elephant and asked it for help. The daughters jumped in the elephant's mouth, but one of their garments hung out of the elephant's mouth. The elephant ran into the cannibal and she asked him if he had seen the twelve daughters. The elephant answered no even though the garment was hanging out of his mouth. Now it is a curse upon the elephant that its lip hang down.
Source: Laos Folk-Lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson, with photographs by W.A. Briggs (1899).
The enchanted mountain stories are told by hunters who have traveled all around the mountain. They have climbed the hills, made their way through the jungle, and walking into the deep ravines.
On the mountain there is a beautiful lake. If you drink out of this lake you are no longer aweary. The water from this lake makes your body come to life and feel more vigorous that ever. The flowers that surround this lake are growing abundantly and possess bright colors. The fruits around the lake are growing larger than normal and at very fast rates. The trees, bushes, and greenery are all of beautiful colors and have large leaves. There are great fields of rice and other crops that continue to grow through all seasons. The fowls that live on this mountain cannot be killed by a hunters arrow. Instead of piercing the skin, the arrow just falls to the ground and the fowl is not just. All of the hunters who go the this mountain to hunt or kill animals always return to their homes empty handed. At the top of the mountain there is a lake with cool waters where the fowls swim and drink. The grain and fruit ripen for those who are loved of the spirits.
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