FullReads

“Nang Hsa Nae, you are so beautiful that I will tell you the secret of your father’s charm. Water cannot drown him, fire cannot burn him, neither can sword or spear wound him, but there is one way in which he may be killed. Take you, seven strands of a spider’s web and twist them into a cord, then with a piece of white bamboo make a bow; with this you will be able to cut off the head of your father and take it to the mighty lord Sa Kyah, and oh!” continued the clever bird, “when you are his queen, do not forget the good turn I have done you, and the debt of gratitude you owe me therefor.”

Nang Hsa Nae was full of joy when she learned the secret of her father’s charm and she promised the little bird that when she became queen of the universe she would grant him any desire that he craved.

That night when everybody else was asleep, Nang Hsa Nae crept to her father’s side and with the bow made of the seven twisted strands of a spider’s web killed him and cut off his head.

With great joy she carried it to the universal lord. He was very glad to find that his enemy was at last dead, but although he had given his word to her, yet he would not marry Nang Hsa Nae, for, said he, she has killed her father although I could not conquer him. Were I to marry her, who will go surety for her that she will not do the same to me? So the wicked daughter did not gain her ambitious end after all.

Not only that, however, but she and her sisters received a punishment, one they are even now suffering, and will continue till the world ends. It is this:

When they found that the lord Sa Kyah would not marry their youngest sister or even accept their father’s head, they said among themselves:

“What shall we do with the head of our father? Where shall we bury it? Should we place it in the earth the whole world would catch on fire; should we throw it into the sea, all the seven oceans would immediately boil; what shall we do?”

In their distress they went to the mighty lord Sa Kyah and in humble tones begged his lordship to give them advice so that they would be freed from the terrible trouble to which their wickedness had brought them. He looked at them and said:

“This is what you must do. You,” pointing to the youngest, “must carry your father’s head in your arms all this year, and when the year is finished you can give it to the sister who is next older than yourself. She will carry it for a year and thus one of you will ever after bear it.”

And so it is. We know when the year ends because then come the Wan Kyap or washing days, when the princess who has carried her father’s head for a year gives it to her elder sister and washes the bloodstains from her clothes.

From these spirits all the inhabitants of the world are descended, and so we see the saying of our philosophers is true, “We have all descended from spirits.”

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

PUC. Curry.

ZAYAT. A place built for the accommodation of travelers, also used as an assembly place for worship, especially during religious feasts; they are usually built near monasteries.

PARAH. (Burmese, payah ) a god; an image of Gautama Buddha.

KAM. Luck.

MAU. To be skillful.

AMAT LOeNG. The chief amat or chief counselor of a prince.

SOIE. The Indian ” viss “; a weight equal to about three and a half pounds avoirdupois.

CHATTIE. A cooking pot, usually made of earthenware.

HUeK. A deep rent in the earth with steep sides; a ravine; a torrent usually runs in it during the rainy season, but it is dry in the hot season.

HPEA. Spirit or supernatural being.

AMAT. A minister of State.

HSAN. A rice bag.

NANG ME PRAH. A queen.