Category Archives: Tales /märchen

Stories which are not regarded as possibly true.

The Tale of Hukma and Hukamiya

Nationality: India
Age: 51
Occupation: Software Manager
Residence: San Ramon, CA
Performance Date: 4/24/20
Primary Language: English
Language: Hindi

Main Body:

Informant: This is a story I heard from my Grandma. And it’s called Hukma and Hukamiya. So Hukma and Hukamiya are a brother and sister. And they were farmers. So Hukamiya would take care of the house and Hukma would go every day to the farm, in their land.

Interviewer: They didn’t have parents?

Informant: No, they’re not in the story. So Hukamiya will cook for her brother and he will take the food with him to, um, the farms. So Hukma loved khichdi(rice and lentils) so she would make khichdi for him and he will take it. So one day when Hukma was, um, he sat down to eat his lunch, there was a wolf.

So the wolf said, “I’m going to – I’m about to eat you.”  So Hukma says, “Instead, why don’t you share my food?” This is where I get a little fuzzy on the story. So the wolf says, “Sure, either I eat you or I’ll eat the food” or something like that, y’know? And so Hukma says, “Fine, eat my food” obviously. So he gives the wolf his khichdi. And the wolf says “तू हिला मेरी पूक्षिडी, मैं खाऊ तेरी खीचडी” (too hila meree pookshidee, main khaoo teree kheechadee).

Interviewer: *Laughs* So the wolf essentially says, “You wag my tail, I eat your khichdi?”

Informant: Yeah

Interviewer: So does “You wag my tail” mean “You annoy me” or “You excite me” or something?

Informant: You know, I don’t really know, it just rhymes. It used to be so funny for us, when we were little. And for you when you were little. I used to tell you this story. So, poor Hukma will take his tail and –

Interviewer: Oh so the wolf’s telling Hukma that “You have to wag my tail.” It’s a command.

Informant: Yeah exactly. So then the wolf eats his khichdi. So this happens a few times. And then poor Hukma will come home hungry. And then his sister is like, “This is not good. You have to eat, this wolf is bullying you.” I think it’s a story about bullying, basically. But anyway, then Hukamiya is like, “We have to get rid of this wolf, this bhariya(wolf).” So then what they do is the next time the bhariya comes and tries to grab his lunch, Hukma says, “Hey, you know what? My sister has made really good food at home. So instead of this plain old khichdi, why don’t you come to our home and we’ll serve you?”

So the wolf agrees and they both go to the house where Hukamiya had made a lot of food. So they invite him inside the hut and there’s a stake in the ground inside the hut. So they tie a rope and they tie the, uh, the wolf to the stake. So the wolf is like “Why are you doing this?” And Hukma responds by saying “Oh we’re tying you here so you won’t be disturbed. You can just rest and stay in one place and enjoy your food in peace.” So the wolf, he’s stupid, he says OK. I guess he’s more interested in food. 

And then Hukma comes in with a big stick, big oiled stick. And so the wolf asks, “Why do you have this stick in your hand?” And so Hukma says, “Oh I’m just guarding the house.” Then they put the food in front of him and as the wolf starts eating, Hukma just starts beating him up. *Laughs* And then they beat him so much and then the wolf runs off. And he cries “हाय हुकमिया, धोका कर दिया” (haay hukamiya, dhoka kar diya) (Oh Hukamiya, you have betrayed me!) 

Interviewer: Why Hukamiya, specifically?

Informant: Oh now I remember! Now I remember. Man, I’ve forgotten this story. It was not Hukma the wolf used to bother, it was Hukamiya. So she used to go out to the fields in the afternoon to give her brother lunch. So on the way the bhariya would accost her and take the food. So then the brother finds out because every day he’s like “Why are you bringing such a little amount of food?” So she tells him. So the brother tells Hukamiya to invite the wolf over and then he dresses up as Hukamiya. And then beats him up after doing all that stake stuff. And then the wolf finds out it’s Hukma which is why he cries out saying that Hukamiya betrayed him. So he was bullying the girl who was weaker and then the older brother comes and beats him up. And so the wolf runs off and never comes back. 

Background: 

The informant is my mother, an Indian woman who was born and raised in northern India (Delhi) and moved to the US over two decades ago. This story is one that she was told by her grandmother and mother. It’s also a story that she apparently frequently told me when I was little.

Context:

I am back home due to shelter-in-place. One night when my family was sitting in the study I asked my mom if she had any folklore samples I could add to the archive. This was one of the ones she shared with me.

Analysis: 

There are a lot of interesting things going on in this story but what sticks out to me is that it’s kind of like a flip-flopped version of Little Red Riding Hood. You could think of Hukamiya as Little Red Riding Hood, a girl who runs into a wolf. Yet, in this story, it is not the wolf that dresses up as a grandmother, but Hukma (who fills the role of the hunter) who dresses up and disguises himself as his sister. The sequence of the wolf asking about the stake and Hukma giving an answer and the wolf asking about Hukma’s stick and Hukma giving an answer brings to mind a similar sequence in Little Red Riding Hood. The one where she remarks “What big eyes you have” and the wolf replies, “The better to see you with.” And then she says “What big teeth you have” and he says “The better to eat you with”, etc. Both tales end similarly though, with the wolf either dead or beaten and driven away.

Anansi Tales

Nationality: American, Jamaican and Nicaraguan descent
Age: 20
Occupation: student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4.18.20
Primary Language: English

Main piece: So, it’s the Anansi Tales, it’s really popular in Jamaica, and my mom grew up in Jamaica so her mom used to tell her the stories. Basically, Anansi was this spider and he was pretty popular in most of the stories but one of them specifically was about Anansi and the snake. So, there was this tiger that was the king of the forest and had a bunch of stuff named after him. And Anansi was like, “I want something named after me.” So he went up to the tiger and was like, “hey you have everything you could ever want, can you just name something after me?” and the tiger was like, “okay, what do you want me to name after you?” and Anansi said that he wanted the stories to be called the Anansi stories because they were originally called the tiger stories. So, the tiger didn’t want to give up his name as the story names. So he was like, “ok fine I’ll entertain this idea for a second.” And he decided to make a deal with Anansi. So he was like, “Okay, here’s the deal bro, capture the snake, then I’ll change the name to the Anansi stories.” And Anansi was like, “Okay, BET.” So, he was thinking about how he could capture the snake. And his first plan he got a noose and some berries, and put the berries in the noose, I think. But, the snake managed to get the berries without getting caught. So Anansi was like, “Aw dang. What’s another way I can do this?” And so then he went a little bit further down the trail — like he did this on a trail that he knows the snake normally goes down — and then he went further in the trail and dug a pit and put some bananas in it. Oh, and then he put grease along the side so that the snake wouldn’t get out. So the snake saw the bananas, but he also saw the grease so he was like “no” and he tied his tail or something to like the tree that was next to it, and he went in and got the bananas just fine. So then, Anansi was like, “alright cool. What can I do now?” So, then he made this trap and put mangos in it and then this piglet walked by and was like “whoa” so he got trapped in the trap. So basically there was enough room in the trap for the snake to go and eat the piglet but not get out. But then when the snake arrived, the piglet started to go crazy and he like broke down the trap and ran away and the snake didn’t get caught. So then the next day Anansi was sitting outside the snakes house and the snake was like, “oh okay, so after you try to kill me on multiple accounts, you’re just going to sit outside my house? Smart idea” and then Anansi was like, “Yeah, you’re right but like I was doing it for a good cause, people are talking about you behind your back. And the snake was like, “What do you mean?” and he [Anansi] was like, “They’re saying that you’re not the longest creature here. They’re saying you’re not even like as long as bamboo.” And the Snake was like, “Hell nah I am. Get the longest piece of bamboo you can find and like measure me next to it” and Anansi was like, “Okay here’s the issue: what if like I’m measuring, and when I go by your head you make yourself seem longer, but when I goby your tail you move closer to make it seem longer.” Cause obviously Anansi can’t see the whole length of the snake like all the time, so the snake told him to tie his tail to the bamboo. So, Anansi does and then goes down to measure the head. But, what he really does at that point to that snake is he quickly ties the head to the bamboo and to the middle. And at this point, everyones kinda gathered around and watching and they’re like “oh, what the fuck—” Oh sorry— “Anansi caught the snake!” and then ya all the animals were like “Okay respect, we’re not gonna laugh at you anymore. They’re the Anansi Tales now.” And that’s how they became the Anansi tales, but there’s a ton of other stories and they’re super popular in Jamaica. 

Background: My informant is a Junior in college. She is American, but her Mom is an immigrant from Jamaica and her Dad is an immigrant from Nicaragua. Here she talks about a tale that her mom heard when she was a kid, and then passed it on down to her kids. The informant says that they’re not well known stories here, in Jamaica the characters and stories of the Anansi tales are like kids stories, that the culture holds very fondly. It is important to note that my informant acknowledged the fact that this wasn’t going to be the exact same as the way her mom tells it, but she remembers most of the ‘specifics.’

Context: This story was told during the day in a group setting. What was nice is that time didn’t seem to pass as we heard this story, as the informant shared it in a way that was aimed towards us. The language used was casual and engaging, and the group was listening to the story with the same engagement of watching a netflix show. I could also tell that the informant fed off this energy and began to have fun with the tale. 

My Thoughts: What I think is super important here is the idea that two versions of the same story could stem from the same house. Of course, the informant’s mother’s version is great as it was listened to many times by the informant. However, the informant has created her own version in sharing the story with me and a few others. The way she performed it for us was very informal and modern in terms of language, which made the story engaging and hilarious for the audience. I found myself rooting for Anansi at the end of the rather long narrative, and also curious as to what other adventures this spider has gone on, both in a traditional sense, but also in a non traditional sense. I mean, the stories this spider has inspired from passing from person to person. I am excited to try this one out on my younger siblings, and I am sure my version will not be the same, but still hold some of the Anansi magic. Of course, I have no intense personal ties to the Jamiacan roots of this story, however the informant’s genuine love for her childhood tale is inspiring to keep that tale alive. 

The Golem – Jewish Folk Tale

Nationality: American
Age: 51
Occupation: Freelance Writer
Residence: Charleston, South Carolina
Performance Date: 4/7/20
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

Subject: Have I ever told you about the golem before?

Interviewer: Um… I feel like I remember hearing about it at some point when I was a kid but like… I don’t recall any of the details.

Subject: Okay well the golem is Jewish folklore as I’m sure you know. It’s a clay monster… like a muddy mass if you can picture that. And um… it’s like a Frankenstein-esque figure. It was created to do the deeds of its master but in all the stories I’ve heard about it, it always turns against the master and disobeys them. So the myth goes that there was this Rabbi- don’t ask me who or where- who took these blocks of clay and mud and formed them into this creature… and then brought it to life using Jewish magic… like Hebrew spells. And the rabbi made him with the intention that he would defend the Jewish people against anti-semitism and attacks. You know, there’s a lot of that going on with the Jews all the time. Everybody wants to kill us! *laughter* Um… I’m pretty sure the way it goes is the rabbi gets the golem to stop doing his deeds and rein him in by writing this magic word on the golem’s forehead in Hebrew. And at the end of the day, the rabbi would remove one letter of the word, that would change the word to mean “death.” And that would subsequently like, switch the golem off for the day. And the rabbi would do this every day like clockwork. Until one day, he forgets to change the letter of the word, and the golem goes nuts and starts killing a bunch of people… he’s just out of control! So the rabbi finds him eventually after he’s already murdered a bunch of people. But he finds him and takes out the letter and the golem dies. But then the twist on that is that the golem is still sitting around somewhere just waiting to be resurrected again. 

Interviewer: I really like that. Something about hearing about Jewish monsters… it feels like, rare. Um… Who told you that?

Subject: Yeah, yeah. There’s lots of them though. But definitely my mother. Or I learned about it in Sunday School when I was little. Yeah I was always a fan of the story and I’ll tell you what else… We could use a golem these days. *laughter* I shouldn’t say that.

Interviewer: *laughter* Yeah you may be right about that.

Context: The subject- my mother- is a 51-year-old white woman of Ashkenazi Jewish and Russian descent. She is from Lexington, Massachusetts and currently lives in Charleston, South Carolina. We are currently quarantined together in Charleston. One day, late morning, I specifically asked her if she had any Jewish folklore she could share with me. She proceeded to share this folk tale.

Interpretation: The nuance of this folklore was interesting to me. The golem seems to be both a figure of protection and a figure of defense. I remember hearing the folk tale about the golem when I was younger, and his only being described to me as an evil figure. But the subject seemed to pose him as a fighter for the Jewish people. I really love learning about Jewish folk monsters and “fairy tales”, because at least with the experience of my Jewish education, they felt rare to hear about. Generally, I also love hearing about Jewish mysticism and spells. The tale reminds me quite a bit of the story of Frankenstein. A monster is created with good intention, and ends up being the cause of unpredictable destruction. Both the Golem and Frankenstein’s downfall seem to be caused by societal forces, rather than any inherent evil within them. They are both reflections of humanity.

Kong-Ji and Pat-Ji, A Korean Cinderella Story

Nationality: Korean
Age: 23
Occupation: Student
Residence: South Korea
Performance Date: April 20
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English

This is a story of Kong-Ji and Pat-Ji. It is a Korean version of Cinderella.

Main Piece:

Kong-Ji was a younger living with her dad in a small village. When she was young, her mother died and his dad brought in a new mother. The stepmother had a daughter called Pat-Ji. Whenever Kong-Ji’s dad wasn’t present, her stepmother and Pat-Ji treated her horribly and forced her to chores.

One day, there was a feast held in the village to celebrate the governor’s son’s birthday and everyone was invited. Kong-Ji wanted to go but her stepmother and Pat-Ji told her that she had to finish all her chores if she wanted to go. The job was to fill a broken jar full of water, pull the grass in the fields with insufficient tools. After she finished these chores, if she could weave her own clothing, then she could go to the feast.

Kong-Ji started filling the jar but noticed that it was impossible because it kept spilling out. Then, a toad appeared and filled the crack in the jar with his body to help her fill the jar.

Next, she had to plow the field and pull grass, but her hoe was made from wood instead of metal. Whenever she tried to use it, it would break, and Kong-Ji’s hands were full of cuts. A bull appeared and helped her plow the field. With the bull’s help, she was able to plow through the whole field.

Her next task was to weave clothing. A fairy appeared and helped her weave the clothing and Kong-Ji was able to get the work done a lot faster. The fairy made a beautiful garment and Kong-Ji was able to wear it to the feast and meet the governor’s son.

The governor’s son fell in love with Kong-Ji but she had to instantly leave when she spotted her stepmother and Pat-Ji who wanted to know the mysterious woman the governor’s son was taken by. While fleeing, she shed a pair of her shoes and the governor’s son wandered all around the village looking for the owner of the shoe until she found Kong-Ji.

Kong-Ji and the governor’s son got married and punished the stepmother and Pat-Ji.

Background:

This story is a popular children’s story in Korea. I had heard about it when I was younger, but this particular collection was translation of a version my friend told me about. She said she knew about this piece from hearing it from her own parents when she was younger. She doesn’t know if there are any meaning behind the story or if she learned anything from it. She says it’s just a story that she heard when she was younger.

Context:

This was collected from a casual conversation with a friend form Korea, who I asked about Korean children’s stories she heard about when she was younger.

Thoughts:

Just like there’s Cinderella in Western cultures, Korea has their own variation of the story of an evil stepmother and her daughter who treats the adopted daughter horribly. I think this just shows that different cultures and countries have their own folk stories they tell children. Just as there are differences in the German and French version of Cinderella, Korea has their own version of Cinderella in the form of Kong-Ji and Pat-Ji. While the name isn’t the same, the premise is the same and it is a testament to the common folklore tropes in many cultures.

Annotation: For another version of this tale, refer to

Kang, Sungsook. “Kongjwi and Patjwi.” Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture, National Folk Museum of Korea, folkency.nfm.go.kr/en/topic/detail/5996.

The Golden Statue and the Crow

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: student
Residence: Fullerton
Performance Date: 4/29/2020
Primary Language: English

Text:

Informant: This was this story I heard all the time as a kid growing up. There was this crow who lived in a city next to a golden statue. There were seven or so precious gems in the statue. Expensive big ones. One blue one for each eye, one in the statue’s sword, one in the belt,  three in the crown.  They were all different colors. The statue started to see all of these poor people and the statue got really sad. The statue was like “I’m made of gold and jewels, but all these poor people are suffering” The statue told the crow to fly around town and find poor people to give the gemstones to. It would pick off a stone from the statue and find a different poor person each day to give one two. There was a girl selling matches, a blind man, a seamstress, a bunch of different types of people. The blind man got an eye and the matches girl got the one from his belt.  Because the statue asks the crow to do all of these things, the crow can’t migrate for winter. By the time winter arrives, the statue has given away all of it’s jewels. Even though it was still gold, it stopped getting all of the attention that it had before. It became an abandoned statue. Because it got so cold, the crow dies right in front of the statue or in the arms of the statue. The poor people became happy, but the crow died and the statue was abandoned. I think it’s supposed to teach you to like not help people at your own expense or something which I think is pretty messed up.

Context: I asked friends to share stories they heard as children and this was one of their replies.

Thoughts: This story reminds me a bit of the Giving Tree story. I agree with the informant that this seems to be an anti-philanthropy and also anti-poor.