■◇■ラジャ氏の原文■◇■
Last week, I was at the western side of the farm.There is 100 hectares of the tea,surrounded by 200 hectares of
sub-tropical forests.It is at a height of 1000 metres.
When I arrived at a section named Nayakaman, it was exactly five minutes after midday.This is the lunch hour-between noon and 1pm.
I was surprised to note that not asingle plucker resting after
lunch, before commencing work. I walked till 1pm,and was even more
surprised to find all the pluckers return very quietly picking tea,
although their eyes were not smiling. I had to get the secret put,and no one
would tell me.
I met the area supervisor, adn asked him to find put the secret.
In the evening when we met for pur usual discussions, he quietly
informed me that the workers had distubed a panther which had killed a
wild boar.
They had hidden it, and at lunch break had trroped off to the woods to
share it among themselves.
Ruplal the supervisor was indeed very angry that he had not got
a share of the wild boar.
Jokingly, I asked him to narrate an ancient Gorkha
supetstition, that whoever steals the prey of a panther, it visit the
house og the thief and takes away theik livestock.
Imeediately he went off to Koilapane village and spread the old tale.
Next morning I was suprised to see two ladies from Koulapani who had
come to ask my advices, as the panther had actually visited Kolipani,
and had actually carried away two goats from the thw ladies pen the
previous night, and both householders had heard the commotion and
stayed firmly bolted indoors.
I informed the ladies, that they should call their
local priests, and at the spot where the wild boar had been snatched by
them and their friends, an offering of peace for the panthers angered
spirit should made. The next day being a Sunday, this prayer was duly
held by the entire village, and it was followed by a picnic for all who
attended the ceremony.
The panther's sprit it seems is appeased for
there have been no futher lifting of livestock.
More importantly,the ceremony was to impart a message to
all members of the village, including children that no one has the
ringht to steal someone else's hard earned food.I smiled with content at the success of the solution--that has
far deeper reach.
Till next week--may share your good fortune with all you hold dear to
your heart.
