HOW PEACOCKS CAME ON THIS EARTH

Folktales help children connect with their cultural roots by transmitting shared values, traditions, and collective memory across generations. Beginning this issue we present folk tales excerpted from Bird Folktales of Meghalaya for Children by Glenn C Kharkongor with Illustrations by Balaiamon Kharngapkynta & Careen Jolin Langstieh (Martin Luther Christian University Press, 2024)

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A long time ago there was a rich Garo couple who had a young daughter. Among their possessions was a piece of silk woven from many coloured threads. This beautiful cloth had been bequeathed by a goddess to the great-grandmother of the wife. It had been handed down through several generations.

But before touching the precious silk, one had to recite a chant or prayer to the goddess; otherwise, the person would experience bad luck.