Robin Koul
Mountains are full of mysteries and folklore. Those stories have been passed from generation to generation by the means of oral traditions. Folk tales are an integral part of folklore and which are slowly moving into the clutches of oblivion causing a cultural decline. Revival of these tales would be an important step to preserve the culture. Also folklore maintains group cohesion and interrelations in the community. It bonds people with their ethnic pride.
Most of the tales remain buried and some get perished over a period of time. Few are transferred to other generations with the change in its form, meaning and content. The only way to preserve those grandmother stories is to document them and make them available to the future generations.
Interestingly, those stories illustrate resemblance to the stories of other parts of the country and even to the folklore of other continents too. Similar frames and oicotypes are found in various stories which cross the geographical and cultural boundaries.
Without an exception to this, the mountains of Ramban too are wealthy with mysteries and tales of antiquity. And one among them is related to the Stoned Baraat (marriage procession) in the Levera- Mamana village of panchayat Chamalwas, tehsil Banihal, district Ramban. It is said that the whole of the marriage procession passing through that area turned into stones due to a curse (watis in local dialect)
Related stories in other part of globe:
Mountain area of POK- In a place called “dollian da naka” in the village of Mohar Kotli (POK), there is an old story of a marriage party which got converted into stones. Doli in pahari language is a word used for Palanquin in which the bride sits and is taken to her husband’s place. Two more similar places where the same story about the stoned Baraat is famous in folklore are in the mountain area of Fatehpur Thakiala, also known as Nakyal and Jungu walla Naala in Hattian Bala District in POK.
Dhanbad-Jharkhand: There is a legend in the Vijaydih and Dhokradih hamlets of Palani in Dhanbad Jharkhand where it is believed about 200 years ago a wealthy bridegroom and his relatives turned into stones along with the bride when they set off on their return journey completing the wedding ceremony post dawn. When the marriage party reached the outskirts of the village, everyone including the newly-wed couple, horses and elephants, turned into stone.
This put into practice a new tradition of a wedding in those two remote Jharkhand villages. All rituals of wedding, arrival and departure of baraat (bridegroom’s procession), have to commence after sunset and conclude before dawn only. And according to local beliefs, if the nuptials take place during the daytime, families of the bride and the bridegroom will turn into stone.
One can still find a dozen rocks scattered in an area around the village. The villagers also believe that those rock statues change their positions sometimes, trying to signify that there is life and soul in them.
Kiradu Temples: Somewhere in the deserted land of Kiradu (once Kiradkot), are five temples where no one dares to stay overnight. These temples are cursed to turn any human into stone who dares to stay overnight in its premises.
Kiradu Temple is a group of five deserted temples dating back to 11th century which is around 35 Km away from Barmer somewhere in the Thar Desert. Some of these temples are dedicated to Lord Shiva. Back in 6th century Kiradu originally known as Kiradkot was ruled by the Kirad clan of Rajputs. It was a rich state and its inhabitants were very prosperous.
Around 12th century King Someshwar of the Parmar dynasty was ruling the Kingdom of Kiradu. And during his reign Turushkas tried to invade Kiradu. King Someshwar feared of those foreign invasions, invited a great sage in order to restore the safety and prosperity of the Kingdom.
The sage after spending some time in the kingdom and restoring to its previous glory left from the place. But for the further administration of religious works he left one of his disciples there. But with the passage of time when everything went normal the king and the people totally forgot about the sage’s disciple. One day, the disciple fell ill. No one in the kingdom came to his help except a potter’s wife who took care of him. When sage returned, he became aware of the people’s neglect towards his disciple. This made him infuriated, and he cursed the entire Kingdom, saying, “A place which has no humanity, must not be burdened with humankind!” With his curse the entire Kingdom turned into stone, except the potter’s wife.
The Sage also ordered the potter’s wife to leave the Kingdom before evening and settle somewhere else or she would be cursed too. He also told her not to turnover and look back towards the village. She started her journey but reaching the outskirts of the Kingdom, she turned back to see the fate of her village. And, with this she too was turned into a stone.
Though there has been no scientific evidence to prove the existence of the curse so far, local people believe in the curse and no one dares to stay beyond sunset, around Kiradu temples. Each day, after sunset the entire Kiradu area is deserted of any human presence.
Batu Malin Kundang Stone in West Sumatra Indonesia: There is a stone in the shape of a prostrating or lying face down on the ground in the Western Sumatra of Indonesia. It is said that he is a boy who was cursed by his mother for his disobedience. It is known as Batu Malin Kundang. And not far from Batu Malin Kundang in the vicinity there are large rocks which are scattered and it is supposed that this is a large ship owned by Malin Kundang which also turned into stone. There is an interesting story behind Batu Malin Kundang.
Long ago, there was a boy named Malin Kundang living with his widowed and elderly mother. Malin started catching fish for their livelihood. But he was very ambitious and decided to go abroad to the city with the intention of changing the life of himself and his mother. Then Malin asked for his mother’s permission to go abroad, who allowed him with reluctance.
During his voyages Malin Kundang never returned home to see his mother. For many years his mother waited for the return of the child, every time she saw a ship she thought it was her child, Malin Kundang. It turned out that while overseas Malin Kundang had been successful because he could marry a rich skipper’s daughter where he worked first. They fell in love and the skipper agreed that his daughter would be married to Malin Kundang as he was very determined in his work. But after marriage, his wife insisted on meeting her in-laws.
After the continuous request of his wife, Malin Kundang finally agreed to return to his hometown by using his big ship, even though he was very heavy hearted because he did not want his wife to know that he came from a poor family. The news of Malin Kundang’s return was heard in the ears of the mother. Knowing that, his mother was waiting for the arrival of Malin Kundang’s ship on the seashore. When the ship of Malin Kundang arrived at the seashore, his mother immediately approached him and called him with open arms. For fear that his wife knew, Malin Kundang denied that the frail and poor woman was her mother. Feeling not recognized as a mother by her child, her mother felt sad and angry, and then her mother offered a prayer that God would punish and curse her child into stone. At that moment came thunder and a big storm. Knowing the prayers of the mother heard by God, Malin Kundang tried to apologize by prostrating to the ground to his mother. But it was too late for him because the curse had happened to him until he became a stone, as well as the ship and the entire crew.
Legends of Stoned Barrat in Ramban: In a place called Livera morh near Mamna village, there is a series of white stones laying in a queue resembling a procession of people along the slopes of the mountain. In the local language it is called sell pather. According to the belief of the people it is a cursed marriage procession which turned into stones while passing through this area. It is said that the baraat was cursed by the paternal aunt of the groom as she was not invited in the marriage. There is said to be an ancient darwaza (stone gate) in the route but the remains of that can’t be found now. In later times one person named Abdula Malik who was a forest guard placed wood logs on that darwaza for the ease of the commuters. Probably the baraat may be walking towards that gate to reach the main route.
The area comes under the place called Chamalwas which too has an ancient history but diminished with the passage of time. A place called Koot at around half an hour driving distance from Chamalwas there still prevails the ruins of a three story palace having eight rooms on each floor. Nearby there is a water source (chashma). It is believed that there was a tunnel routed from the fort to that chashma, used by the inhabitants of the fort. This fort belongs to the Chanderbanshis clan. The name of the place Chamalwas probably may be the corrupt form of Chandarbanshi. “Chamal” may be derived from “Chandar” and “Waas” means the home or abode, the home of Chanderbanshis. The name of the king was Allibsi. He was killed asleep with an axe by a person named Gunak Singh who conspired with his vazir (minister) to snatch his kingdom. His son was Chandersi, whose son was Masusi. Masusi had four sons of Hida, Sultan, Jafar and Ramsi among whom the first three embraced Islam.
One of the descendents of this family Rafiq Malik informed about the lineage, who himself found the details from the old revenue record in Jammu. Later he confirmed those figures with the village’s eldest person, which tallied with the revenue records.
Myths and Facts: There are a number of similar stories around the world. Even our religious scriptures like The Bala Kanda of the Ramayana is the earliest text to describe Ahalya who was turned to stone by Gautama’s curse and returns to her human form only after being touched by Rama’s foot. Those stories may be used as an instrument to discipline, moral building or to introduce or inculcate a new law or system into the society. To make people believe those, folklores must have been associated with some legend for a formal approval in the society. Those are the beliefs laced with fear, which makes people follow the age-old-tradition. Their forefathers passed on this belief to their fathers and which is being passed to their children now.
Folk forms are also used as the medium of protest against authority or existing social structures sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly. Folklores set an example for the future generations and subtly communicate and forward to their consciousness that what is right and what is wrong.
The presence of those stones in the Ramban area can be justified to be a geological phenomenon of stone formation and accumulation of white dolomite, limestone, barite or quartz. Also those shapes could be the result of erosion by weather, rain and winds. Also, in some places stormy winds can make them move slightly making them seem to be lively.
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