One day Ngaiteii and her grandmother were digging up taro in their jhum for their evening meal. At the bottom of their jhum was a large, deep pool, a widening of the river Tiau. This was the pool where Ngaiteii’s father had drowned some years before, and it was believed that her father’s spirit lived inside it.
It was a hot and sunny day, and their work was very tiring. Ngaiteii, especially, kept getting thirsty, and soon the gourd-flask of water was empty. Her grandmother would go to the pool to refill the gourd; but she soon grew tired, because Ngaiteii kept drinking it up and the pool was far away. So she said, “Ngaite, it is a bit of a walk to the pond and I am exhausted. Why don’t you refill the gourd yourself this time? But be careful: when you reach the pond, you must not exclaim ‘E Khai!’ no matter what you see there.”
Ngaiteii left for the pool to refill her gourd. When she reached the pool and looked down, she saw that the water was dark and transparent. It filled her with awe. Forgetting her grandmother’s warning, she exclaimed, “E Khai!” in amazement. The moment she uttered these words, her father’s spirit rose from the pool and grabbed her.
After a while, Ngaiteii’s grandmother started to wonder why she had not returned. She waited and waited, and finally decided to walk down to the pool to see what was keeping her. She hoped to meet her along the way; surely, Ngaiteii would have refilled her gourd and be on her way back by now. But she did not see her anywhere. Confused and panicked, her grandmother began walking faster.
After a while, she met a deer couple. She asked them if they had seen Ngaiteii, and they replied:
“See her we did,
But beyond the mighty waters, beyond the Tiau river
Ngaiteii’s father has taken her away.”
Ngaiteii’s grandmother quickly hurried on until she met a partridge couple. She asked them if they had seen Ngaiteii, and they replied:
“See her we did,
But beyond the mighty waters, beyond the Tiau river
Ngaiteii’s father has taken her away.”
Ngaiteii’s grandmother went on, still looking for her. By and by, she reached the pool at the bottom of their jhum. Peering inside, she saw Ngaiteii at the bottom of the pool. She was preparing the evening meal.
Ngaiteii’s grandmother, overjoyed to see her, shouted “Ngaite, I’m coming to get you!” and jumped into the water.
Ngaiteii was very happy to see her grandmother and hugged her tight. Her grandmother asked, “And where is your father’s spirit?” Ngaiteii replied, “He has gone to his jhum field. He will return in the evening.”
In the evening, the spirit of Ngaiteii’s father came home in the form of a large python. A short while later, he transformed himself into human form. Ngaiteii’s grandmother asked him, “May I please take Ngaiteii home?”
Her father replied, “Yes, you may take her home. However, she must return to me soon. I have missed her and would like her to stay with me from now on.” With his permission and a promise to return, Ngaiteii and her grandmother emerged from the pool and went home, relieved.
But as the days went by, Ngaiteii became more and more reluctant to return to her father, despite the promise she had made. She continued to stay with her grandmother and refused to go back to the pool. This irked her father, who made the waters of the pool flood towards her village. As the flood swirled and churned angrily towards her house, the waves seemed to call out ominously, “Ngai, Ngai!” demanding that Ngaiteii come back.
The villagers watched the waters rise and slowly start to submerge their streets. “Our village is being flooded and it’s Ngaiteii’s fault!” they exclaimed. As the sun moved across the sky, the waters showed no sign of abating. The villagers began to panic, crying out, “E Khai! Our entire village is going to be submerged! Throw Ngaiteii’s puan into the water!” So they got Ngaiteii’s clothes and threw them into the rising water. This made the flood recede for a little while.
However, it wasn’t long before the water started to rise again. The villagers cried, “We are going to drown! What shall we do?” Somebody said, “Throw Ngaiteii’s comb into the water!” and they did so. Again, the waters were mollified—but only for a short while. Soon, they started to rise again.
In order to calm the flood, the villagers threw in Ngaiteii’s bangles, her necklaces, her woven baskets, her loin-loom, and anything else they could find that belonged to her. Each time they threw something in, the waters receded for a short while; but each time they rose again, more violently than before.
“Ngai, Ngai, Ngai!” cried the angry red water. Soon, the villagers saw that their village was in danger of being completely swept away. They had run out of Ngaiteii’s possessions to appease the flood. In the end, it became a choice between sacrificing Ngaiteii or the lives of all the villagers. Reluctantly, they decided to give her up. They took the heartbroken Ngaiteii’s hands, led her to the edge, and threw her into the heart of the churning waters.
As soon as they had done so, the flood subsided.
Afterwards, everyone mourned the loss of Ngaiteii. They cried:
“Ngaite! (sniff, sniff)
You have suffered the fury of the southern wind
The rage of the heaven’s rains
Ngaite (sniff, sniff).”
(Extracted from the second edition of Mizo Myths, compiled and translated by Cherrie Lalnunziri Chhangte, published by Blaft; 2023)
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