The Witch without chin : Lai-Khadang Pandabi
Fungawari Singbul by B. Jayantakumar Sharma

Translation by Nganthoi Lourembam *

An illustration of Folk tale 'Lai-Khadang Pandabi' by Nganthoi Lourembam

Once upon a time in a village there lived a husband and wife. The man was very hard working; after finishing his garden's work he would then go to other places and earns money. While taking care for his family the man never got time to relax. But his wife was completely different from him.

She doesn't attend any household work and only believed in eating delicious foods. Whatever food her husband brings home after working so hard she used to cook them carelessly and finish them up so quickly. In front of her husband she used to pretend to care much about her husband's hard earned money and puts only the heads and bones of fish and less salt in making food.

Her husband who really works hard never gets to eat proper food with perfect taste. But once her husband leaves she used to cook for alone all the delicious fish such dried Ngakra, Ngamu, Ngafak (names of indigenous fish) and eats deliciously. Not only she's got a bad habit of eating alone, she also got bad and clever ideas. Before her husband catches her eating delicious food all alone, she said to her husband, "Dear, husband, I believe our house might have got the witch without chin."

Her husband asked, "What happened?" "The fish we have just brought day before such as Ngakra, Ngatin, Ngafak and Ngamu which was preserved in the pot have all disappeared. They must have been surely eaten up by the witch." The man replied softly, "Right, from a long time, not only I haven't been able to eat but not able to see the foods and stuff I had brought - the witch without chin might have surely eaten them."

She couldn't understand the sarcastic comment of her husband. She replied, "Dear husband, this witch travels around. Last time, the witch came to Aunt Leirik's house and emptied all the vegetables and fishes." Herhusband said, "Oh, this witch appears in Aunt Leirik also. Okay, okay." and stopped talking. And he went to work. But he thought inside, 'I will capture this witch once and teach a lesson.'

Once the man said, "Wife, today I am going to the village and discuss about an agricultural land. If I am late then I might stay back at Mama's (uncle) place. So cook food early." The woman was very happy thinking that she can eat anything she likes. She said, "Alright then I'll fetch some vegetables from the garden and cook it fast." The man replied, "That's alright, how delicious food do I eat."

She plucked some leafy vegetables from the garden and kept them in a plate after washing off. She quickly took a bath and went inside the kitchen. After a while she said to her husband, "The food is ready please go and take a bath." He took a bath in the pond and went inside the kitchen to have food.

The bowl of curry she made for her husband was full of liquid and the leafy vegetables; the cabbage leaves and mustard leaves were floating on top of the bowl. Looking at the curry the man became furious. He poured some liquid and had the food. He was looking if he could find some dried fish and he could find just some fish heads.

Even though he was angry he had some food and got up to clean his face. He wore his dress tediously and started packing stuffs to carry on his journey. The woman didn't bother to help her husband in the preparation. Instead she was preparing to have lunch in the kitchen.

In the meantime, her husband said, "I am leaving." And he took steps toward the yard. Still she didn't come out but busy preparing food for herself in the kitchen. The man came back without being seen and hid himself in the corner of his house. He saw all the activities of his wife. The woman thought that her husband left and hence she took down the Ngarubak (a box which is kept only to store dried fish) and took out Ngafak and cooked them nicely with peas, potatoes and onions, etc. When the woman was cooking, the man quickly climbed up the top of the house and observed what she was doing.

After finished cooking, the woman put the rice on a big plate. And the Ngafak curry was put in a big bowl. She sat on the floor like a man ate the food. She has got a short chin and hence every time she eats some food falls off on the floor. And hence the amount of leftover was lot more then what she actually had.

The kitchen gets fully messed up when she removes the bones of fish and chillies. After observing her from the beginning to the end of her, eating the food, the man came down from the top and shouted, "I caught the witch without chin today." The woman was shocked and with embarrassment she quickly ran out of the house towards the backend and reached her maiden house.

Lack of eating manner puts you into shame. The woman could have eaten the food in open but due to her thieve eating style she reached her maiden house because of embarrassment.


** From Manipur folk tale Book called "Fungawari Singbul" by B. Jayantakumar Sharma