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UYGHUR FOLK-LORE AND LEGENDS
This book was especially republished to raise funds for these charities & many more...
33% of the publishers profit from the sale of this book will be donated to charities.
A GREAT READ FOR CHILDREN!
The Uyghur people have origins that are as ancient as the Han Chinese, if not older. Originating in central China, they were slowly pushed further west until they settled in the Tarim Basin. But the Uyghurs are not just limited to East Turkestan and can also be found inhabiting the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Smaller communities can also be found in Mongolia, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Russia.
Because they have travelled so far and have encountered so many different cultures, it is therefore not surprising that Uyghur Folk-Lore is extensive, which when woven together in such a volume, results in a rich tapestry that can only be pleasing for the reader.
We invite you to curl up with this volume and indulge yourself in the fifty-nine tales and stories that stretch back in time, almost to the great flood itself. Read about one-eyed, seven horned monsters that double as mothers-in-law, tricksters, illusionists, shape-shifters, ogres and even the origin of the meaning of fate itself.
NOTE: The Uyghurs are an ethnic minority, who like the Tibetans, have been fighting for their independence for generations. 33% of the publishers profit from the sale of this book will be donated to UNICEF.
Excerpt from UYGHUR FOLK-LORE AND LEGENDS
HOW THE HARE GOT HIS LIP SPLIT
Once Upon a Time a Hare was going along a road one day, when suddenly, on turning a corner, he came upon a large Tiger. The Tiger at once seized the Hare, and said that he was going to eat him.
"Please, please, Uncle Tiger," said the Hare, holding up his thumbs in supplication, "please don't eat me, I am only a very small beast, and will make a very insufficient meal for a great big animal like you. And if you will spare my life I will take you to where you can find a much bigger, fatter creature than me for your supper."
"Very well," said the Tiger, "I agree to that. But if you don't show me a much bigger animal than you are, I shall certainly be obliged to eat you."
So he released the Hare, and the two walked off along the road together.
As they went along night began to fall, and when it was quite dark the Hare began smacking his chops and making sounds as if he was eating something very nice.
"What are you eating, Brother Hare?" asked the Tiger.
" I am eating my eye, Uncle Tiger," replied the Hare. "I have taken it out and eaten it; it is very nice, and soon it grows again."
The Tiger was rather surprised at hearing this, but being very hungry he proceeded to scrape out his own eye and eat it up. After going a little further the Hare again began smacking his lips, as if he was eating something.
"What are you eating now, Brother Hare?" asked the Tiger.
"I am eating my other eye, Uncle Tiger," replied the Hare; "it is even better than the first."
The foolish Tiger on hearing this proceeded to scrape out his other eye and eat that. The Tiger was now quite blind, and the Hare led him along to the brink of a deep gulf, where he advised the Tiger to sit down and rest for a while. And after the Tiger was seated, the Hare said:
"Don't you find it cold, Uncle Tiger? Shall I light you a fire?"
"Yes, please, Brother Hare," said the Tiger, "I think a fire would be very pleasant."
So the Hare lighted a fire just in front of the Tiger, and when it was blazing up he kept putting the sticks nearer and nearer the Tiger, so that the Tiger was obliged to keep edging further and further away, when all of a sudden he toppled over backwards into the gulf behind. Now it happened that half-way down the gulf a tree was growing from a cleft in the precipice, and as he passed this the Tiger seized one of the boughs with his teeth, and so arrested his fall. The Hare, peeping over the edge, saw what had happened, and he called out:
"Oh, Uncle Tiger, Uncle Tiger, are you safe?"
"Oh, Uncle Tiger," said the Hare, "is that all you can say? I am afraid you must be very badly hurt. Do just say 'Ah!' and I shall know that you are all right."
The Tiger, anxious to please the Hare, opened his mouth to say "Ah!" and was instantly precipitated to the bottom of the gulf, where he fell upon some rocks and was killed.
Next morning the Hare went hopping down the road when he met a Man driving along a lot of Horses.
"Good morning, Father Man," said he to the driver. "Would you like to know where you can find a good Tiger's skin?"
"Yes, please, Brother Hare," said the Man, thinking he would sell the skin and make a lot of money.
So the Hare pointed out to him where the dead Tiger lay in the ravine, and the Man hastened off to skin it, after first asking the Hare to take care of his Horses while he was away.
As soon as he was out of sight the Hare saw two Ravens sitting in a tree overhead. He called out to them:
"Brothers Raven, look here! Here are a lot of Horses with no one in charge. Why don't you come down and feed on the sores on their backs?"
The Ravens thought this was a good idea, and flying down, they perched on the Horses' backs, and began to dig their beaks into the sore places. The poor Horses, in fear and pain, soon stampeded, and galloped about all over the country.
The Hare then hopped on a little further down the road and came upon a Boy tending Sheep.
"Good-morning, Brother Boy," said the Hare, "would you like to know where there is a fine Raven's nest, full of eggs?"
"Yes, please, Brother Hare," said the Boy, thinking he would climb the tree and take the Raven's eggs. So the Hare pointed out to him the tree where the Raven's nest was, and the Boy ran
off to get the eggs, after first asking the Hare to take charge of the Sheep for him while he was away.
The Hare soon espied a Wolf on the hill-side not far off, so he went up to him and said:
"Good-morning, Brother Wolf, do you know that there is a fine flock of Sheep quite unguarded down there, and I should advise you to take advantage of this opportunity of killing some of them."
The Wolf at once rushed down the hill into the middle of the flock of Sheep, scattering them all in every direction, and killing as many as he thought he required for his own use.
Meanwhile the Hare proceeded to the top of a high hill whence he could survey the whole country. From there he was able to discern the dead Tiger lying in the ravine, with the Man stripping off its skin; the Horses careering all over the country, with the Ravens pecking at the sores on their backs; the Boy robbing the Raven's nest; and the Sheep, pursued by the Wolf, scattered to the four quarters of the compass.
The sight so amused the Hare that he leaned back on a handy stone, and laughed to such an extent that he actually split his upper lip.
And it has remained split to this very day.
Table of Contents for UYGHUR FOLK-LORE AND LEGENDS
| The Song of the Fox |
| The Mangqys and Tutuqash |
| The Sheep, the Lamb, the Wolf and the Hare |
| Siddhi Kür. Tale XXI. |
| The Wolf |
| How the Hare Got His Lip Split |
| How the Hare Made a Fool of the Wolf |
| The Friendship of the Wolf, the Fox, and the Raven |
| The Male Goat and the Mangqys |
| The Jackal Punished |
| The Leopard |
| The Ogre and the Five Girls |
| The Animals' Den |
| Altamsy and Kundemsy |
| Yogh-tamu-ntso |
| Yangqysaq and Qongyrjan |
| Chin Tömür |
| The Fortunes of Shrikantha |
| Why Dog and Cat are Enemies |
| The Idler's Adventure |
| The Three Sons |
| The Blind Man and the Wild Animals |
| The Talking Wooden Bolt |
| The Sick Girl |
| The Magic of the Old Monk |
| The King's Son As Thief (1) |
| The King's Son As Thief (2) |
| The Reverses of Fate (1) |
| The Reverses of Fate (2) |
| The Mysterious Advice |
| The Evil Stepmother |
| The Mother and the Son |
| The Pyhrqan's Son |
| The Boy Who Fell in Love with a Ghost |
| The Triumph of Justice and the Punishment of Treason |
| The Smart Boy, Who Bartered a Mouse for a Horse and a Beautiful Wife |
| Cullaka-Setthi-Jataka |
| The Rat's Wedding |
| How the Ugly Boy Pretends to Be Beautiful and Marries a Beauty, or, The Pyhrqans Who Change the Appearance of People |
| The Trickster Thief |
| The Smart Woman, or, The Living Corpse |
| The Monk and the Woman |
| The Bitten-Off Tongue (1) |
| The Bitten-Off Tongue (2) |
| The Master Illusionist |
| The Three Sons-in-Law |
| The Seven Fools |
| The Story of the Seven Simpletons |
| The Stupid Peasant |
| The Numskull |
| The Travelling Pyhrqans |
| The Buddhist Prayer |
| Beauty Through Faith |
| Dorje |
| The Monk's Conversion |
| The Instructiveness of Dreams |
| The Flight of the Living Buddha |
| The Living Buddha's Hat |
| Map of East Turkestan |
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