In days past, there lived a royal family. They were considered the most powerful among all in the village. One day, the youngest son of the family went to the forest to hunt along with his friends and killed a tiger. He was filled with joy and delight because at that time people who brought back the head of a tiger were highly ranked and recommended as important and most powerful among all in society.
His mind was filled with many happy thoughts about being named as a hero and the most powerful person, not unlike his eldest brothers and his father. It was also his main aim to attain this high position in the eyes of the villagers. Yet when he returned home after he killed a tiger, to his surprise he found his father, the king, dead. He kept thinking and wondering to himself: how had his father passed away without suffering from any kind of sickness and so suddenly. Then at last he and the villagers realized that his father bore the soul of a tiger.
Since then, hunting or killing of tiger is strictly prohibited in Konyak Naga areas in the belief that a king usually bears the tiger's soul.
(By Monu Lukyem; Extracted from the book ‘Retelling Naga Narratives: More than thrice told tales’, Edited by Richard Carbo, John Coakley, Abraham Lotha. Published by Heritage Publishing House)
