Reading Notes: Middle Eastern and Indian, Reading B
After reading about how Dog came to live with Man for my Reading A choice, I decided it would be interesting for me to find out how the other most popular domesticated animal came to be with humans as well.
1. Khasi Folktales: How the Cat Came to Live with Man, by Mrs. K. U. Rafy (1920).
This story was not as eventful as how Dog came to live with Man, but it was still interesting to me. The cat, Ka Miaw, lived with her tiger brother who was almighty and powerful. However, the tiger was wasteful with his food and only ate the parts he wanted and discarded the rest to rot. Ka Miaw would then have to provide for herself, sneaking out late at night to hunt mice and other vermin.
One day, the tiger was sick and so his friends came to visit him. The tiger ordered Ka Miaw to light the hookah to serve for his visitors. In this culture, it was disgraceful for the daughter of the house to serve hookah, so Ka Miaw lied saying there was no fire left to serve it. Her comment angered her brother, and he ordered her to fetch a firebrand in order to light the hookah.
Ka Miaw fearfully ran off to find a firebrand, where she approached human civilization and came across a group of children playing. The children approached her with gentleness and petted her fur. After experiencing such harshness from her brother, she purred and delighted in this soft attention and forgot about her errand.
In waiting so long for Ka Miaw to come back, the tiger's friends left his home upset. This infuriated the tiger and he set off to find his sister. During this time, Ka Miaw suddenly remembered her errand and hurriedly started back homewards with a firebrand. On her way back, she encountered her brother in a violent rage. Scared, she threw the firebrand down at her brother's feet and ran away back to human civilization and there she stayed, feeding herself by chasing vermin and purring to the touch of humankind.
Bibliography:
Folk-Tales of the Khasis by Mrs. K. U. Rafy (1920).
1. Khasi Folktales: How the Cat Came to Live with Man, by Mrs. K. U. Rafy (1920).
This story was not as eventful as how Dog came to live with Man, but it was still interesting to me. The cat, Ka Miaw, lived with her tiger brother who was almighty and powerful. However, the tiger was wasteful with his food and only ate the parts he wanted and discarded the rest to rot. Ka Miaw would then have to provide for herself, sneaking out late at night to hunt mice and other vermin.
One day, the tiger was sick and so his friends came to visit him. The tiger ordered Ka Miaw to light the hookah to serve for his visitors. In this culture, it was disgraceful for the daughter of the house to serve hookah, so Ka Miaw lied saying there was no fire left to serve it. Her comment angered her brother, and he ordered her to fetch a firebrand in order to light the hookah.
Ka Miaw fearfully ran off to find a firebrand, where she approached human civilization and came across a group of children playing. The children approached her with gentleness and petted her fur. After experiencing such harshness from her brother, she purred and delighted in this soft attention and forgot about her errand.
In waiting so long for Ka Miaw to come back, the tiger's friends left his home upset. This infuriated the tiger and he set off to find his sister. During this time, Ka Miaw suddenly remembered her errand and hurriedly started back homewards with a firebrand. On her way back, she encountered her brother in a violent rage. Scared, she threw the firebrand down at her brother's feet and ran away back to human civilization and there she stayed, feeding herself by chasing vermin and purring to the touch of humankind.
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| Curious Cat. Source: Pixabay. |
Bibliography:
Folk-Tales of the Khasis by Mrs. K. U. Rafy (1920).
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