A tale of two brothers

There is another version of this same tale. In the ancient days there were two brothers-Tani and Taro. Tani was the older one and Taro, the younger. They had houses close to each other and had families. One day, Tani decided to play a prank on his younger brother. Taro was clearing the forests when Tani hid in the bushes and scared Taro. Tani ran home unseen. Taro thought that he had seen a ghost, so he quit clearing the jungles and came home to tell Tani the story. After hearing Taro’s story, Tani told him that he is out of favor with the spirits and therefore needs to make an offering to the spirits. Taro would have to kill a wild boar, roast it and throw it down the gora of the river that was close by.

The gullible Taro did as his brother said and the very next day he killed a wild boar, roasted it and carried it to the bank of the river. Tani knew what was happening, so he ran and hid down at the gora. When Taro threw down the roasted boar from top of the gora, Tani readily caught it and took it home and had a big feast with his family.

After a few days, Taro realized the prank his brother played on him and decided to play the same prank on Tani. One day, Tani was clearing the jungles. Taro hid in the bushes and scared Tani. Tani got scared and came home running and told Taro what had happened. Taro suggested that Tani should offer a wild boar to appease the spirits. So, Tani should roast a wild boar and throw it down the gora. Tani agreed and said he would do the same the very next day.

So, Taro went and hid at the gora the next day. But Tani knew that his brother was trying to take revenge on him. So, instead of a wild boar he heated up a huge boulder and rolled it down the gora. Taro couldn’t see what was coming and so caught whatever came down the gora. He caught the hot boulder and it scalded his skin and took off skin of his arms and chest. Taro got very hurt at the misdeeds of his brother and decided to move his family away from Tani’s family. So, off he went with his family far down to the plains and settled there.

Mrs. Miladoi Medok explained the moral of the tales as the same trick does not fool anybody again and again. In this folk tale, Tani, the elder brother decided to play a prank on his younger brother, Taro, and scared him at the jungle when he was cutting trees at the forest. When Taro, the younger brother, realized the prank his brother played to him, he also decided to plan the same prank. There, Taro had made the mistake. If he wanted to teach Tani a lesson, he should cleverly play another prank.

According to Mr. Haren Doley, the tale also bears another moral. He said that there should be love, affection, understanding, compassion, co-operation and brotherhood among the family members. Otherwise, it takes only few minutes to break down the relationships. He added that the small children learn to behave in a socially approved way from their parents. The children judge everything in terms of their consequences. Therefore, folk tales plays an important role in modification of behaviour and development of morality among children. In this folk tale, the relationship between the two brothers Tani and Taro was not so strong, sound and friendly. That’s why, ultimately, separated from each other. From this folk tale, the children could learn that there should be understanding, love and mutual co-operation among the brothers and sisters or any other relationships.

Source~ Book- Role of mising folk tales and folk songs in developing moral values among children a critical study. Researcher: Doley Pritilata Pegu Guide: Boro Anil Kumar Link- http://hdl.handle.net/10603/72266