A Contest Of Wit
- A Manipur folk-tale retold -

High School Textbook *

Once, long ago, in a village there lived four friends named Chaoba, Chaobhal, Chaonu and Chaoton. They grew up together and loved one another very much.

One day, they were roaming about and reached a nearby village. There they happened to see a beautiful young girl who had come to the village pond to fetch water.

Each one of them was struck by the beauty of the girl. " I must marry her," each one of them thought without revealing what was going on in his mind to the other three.

The next day, each of them separately visited the girl's house and began to court her. As each one of them came to ttje House at different times, none of them knew what the others were doing.

The girl received and treated them equally. Things went on in this way for full three months. Then the girl began to think, These four young men are very close friends and they do not know that each of them is courting me.

A scene in the village

But one day they will know the truth and then they will be so angry with one another that they may become enemies . So it will be right for me to bring all of them together one day and reveal that all of them have been courting me. I shall then marry the one among them who will prove himself to be the most clever."

So, the clever girl made her plans.

Thus, when Chaoba came to see her, she said, "Dear brother, you have been courting me for three months. Things should not go on like this any longer. So, if you really love and wish to marry me, then please come here the next Monday at dusk and hide yourself behind the bamboo grove on the western side of my house. When my mother is asleep, I shall come out to the front courtyard and call you. Then you can come out of your hiding and I shall marry you."

She then said the same thing to the other three friends too, except that she told one of them to hide himself behind the bamboo grove on the south. To another she said that he should hide himself on the north, and to the fourth one she suggested that he should hide himself near the front gate.

And on the appointed day, as darkness descended Chaoba came to the bamboo grove on the western side and hid himself behind it. So did Chaobhal behind the bamboo grove on the southern side.

And Chaonu too hid himself behind the bamboo grove on the eastern side. Last of all came Chaoton, who hid himself behind a grove near the front gate.

And then as night advanced, the girl came out to the front courtyard and cried out loudly, "The time has come. I'm ready you can come out."

As soon as she uttered these words the four friends rushed out from their hiding places, and each one of them tried to grab the girl's hand. Just at that moment, the girl's mother with whom the girl had confided everything came out of her house.

In the light of the lamp that she had brought out the four friends saw and recognised each other. They realised what each one of them had been doing without the knowledge of the other three. They then began to laugh at one another's activity.

Chaoba then said, "Dear friends, this is a clever move by this girl. She has done it to make us know that each one of us has been courting her separately. So, instead of quarelling, we should find out a way to settle who among us should marry her."

The others agreed to this proposal. The girl then proposed that there should be a contest of wit among them. She said that each of them should tell a riddle and the one who could tell the cleverest riddle would marry her. The four young men readily agreed. They then invited some elderly neighbours to be the judges of the contest.

First of all, Chaoba began to tell his riddle. " Dear friends", he said, "my father once planted a mango tree. After the death of my father I wanted to make a boat and so I cut down the mango tree. You know it took me one whole month to cut down the tree. Then I thought the tree was too long for the boat and I decided to cut off the top-end of the tree. And so one day, after an early meal, I began to walk towards the top-end of the tree. But, the tree was so long that by the time I reached half of its whole length it was already sunset. So I had to spend the night by the tree trunk. The next day I reached the top-end of the tree, but again it was already dark. So I could cut the top-end only the next day. You see it took me a one and a half month to complete the work, beginning iiom the cutting down of the tree to the cutting off of the top-end. Now friends,it is for you to decide how long and how big the mango tree was."

The three friends were baffled. "It is indeed a huge tree, and we have never seen one so big," they all agreed.

Chaobhal then began his riddle. "My father had a buffalo. It had horns set wide apart as much as they were long. One day a crane flew from the tip of the right horn to reach the tip of the left horn . The crane started early in the morning but by the time it was dark the bird had reached only the first half of the distance. It had to spend the night on the head of the buffalo. The next day, the crane started early in the morning and again, by the time it reached the left horn, it was already dark. Now my dear friends, it is for you to determine how far one tip of the horn was from the other.

The three friends agreed, " Yes, the buffalo must indeed be very huge."

It was now Chaonu's turn to tell his riddle. After pondering awhile he began, " My father built a house having twelve rooms for me. One day I took a broom and began to sweep the floor starting from the front porch, right from the early morning. But by the time night came, I had reached only the middle part of the house. So I had to spend the night there and it took me the whole next day to complete sweeping the floors. Now, it is for you, friends, to determine the length, the breadth and the height of the house that my father built for me."

The other three friends agreed that it was really a big house.

It was now Chaoton's turn to tell his riddle. But no idea came to his mind immedialtely. He remained silent for a few minutes. Everyone began to think that he was not clever enough to tell a riddle. The girl, who was actually in love with him, and who very much wanted him to win the contest, became a little disappointed.

Some moments passed in this way.

Then an idea struck Chaoton and he began thus: "Like the father of each one of you, who left things for you, my father too left a drum for me. It was so big that one day I beat it on its left side and moved to beat the right side. But it was already night by the time I reached the middle of the drum's length. So I spent the night there itself and started for the other side on the following day. Of course I reached the right side only when it was dark. Now, friends, it is for you to determine the size of the drum that my father left for me."

The three friends winked at one another thinking that it was, compared to their own, not a clever riddle.

So Chaoba questioned him, "Where did your father get the trunk of the tree to make a drum that big?"

And Chaoton answered very confidently, "Well, you see, my father used the trunk of the mango tree that your father had planted. For the leather work my father used the hide of the buffalo that my friend Chaobhal's father owned. It took one whole year to make the drum."

But then Chaonu said, "The drum could not have been left in the open. Where was it kept?"

"Well, the village people kindly dragged it into the house which was built by your father, replied Chaoton with a hearty laughter.

The village elders now began to consider which riddle was the cleverest one. And finally, they all agreed that Chaoton's riddle was the best one and the girl was very glad at the result of the contest of wit.

Then the happy villagers arranged the marriage ceremony even at that hour. The girl's mother, being a widow and having no one to live with her, Chaoton and his wife lived with her, happily ever after.

The marriage ceremony

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* This is a Manipur folk tale retold and is part of text book prescribed for High School student in Manipur under Board of Secondar Education Manipur (BSEM). This was webcasted on January 18th, 2010.

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