Duty Over Grief in Tibet

Waris is considered to be the first Igu (priest) of Idu Mishmi community. He was a famous, accomplished and powerful Igu and his fame had spread far and wide. Once an epidemic spread in Tibet. People were dying of dysentery. Almost half the population of Tibet was getting affected by it, so Waris was called to cure the people there. Waris left his old mother, young wife and children and went to Tibet. Before leaving, he made a hawk named Ishru his informer and gave him the responsibility of giving information about the family every moment. The epidemic had spread in such a terrible form in Tibet that Waris had to stay there for years. Then one day his informer hawk Ishru came and told him the sad news. He told that his child is no more. He became very sad on hearing this, but realizing his responsibility was bigger than his sorrow, he said to Ishru, My wife and I can have children again and I can also marry another wife, but it is more important for me to stay here. The people here need me. So you go and bring any new news if you have it. Ishru returned.

Ishru returned again after a few years. This time he brought the news of Wariss mothers death. Waris went into deep shock on hearing the news of his mothers death. He remained in shock for a few days, then he told the people there, I will get my wife and children back, but I cannot get my mother back, so I have to go. Saying this, Waris left for his home from there. While returning, Waris sat on a stone at a place called Aatho Popu and kept crying for hours. It is believed that even today Wariss tears are present on that stone and his handprints can also be seen on that stone.

As soon as Seene entered his village, he sat at the gate and started meditating. While meditating, he went into a subconscious state and saw his mother in that state. After that, he asked Ishru to go home and try to catch a rooster or hen to see if there was any spirit there. After a while, Ishru returned and told that an old woman had chased him away while protecting the hen. On hearing this, Waris understood that his mothers spirit was wandering around. He immediately reached home and started performing ya (a ritual performed on someones death). After performing ya continuously for five days, Waris succeeded in bringing his mother back from the world of death. Mother returned, but in a very horrific form. She was wearing a necklace of anjipombra (earthworm) around her neck and ears and earrings. Her whole body was stinking. She tried to enter the house through the asoka (gate) by hissing like a bird, but Wariss wife was sitting there and weaving cloth. Seeing her mother-in-law in a dirty and horrible form, she screamed in panic and hit her with aabripa (weaving tool) and drove her away. The owl sitting on the tree was watching all this. He proposed that he would take mother to such a waterfall and clean her.

After some time, the owl returned alone. Mother was not with him. When Waris asked, he told that mother died after falling from the hill near that waterfall. Pishu and Praavu (names of birds) must have eaten her.

To confirm this, Waris took the form of a fly and started searching for his mother near that waterfall. But mother was nowhere to be found. When asked by Pethro and Pali (names of birds), they told that we fly here and there to drink water the whole day, we have not seen your mother anywhere. Yes, but the owls mouth was stinking. Hearing this, Waris understood everything. He understood that the owl had eaten his mother. Then to confirm this, they went to the owl, its mouth was stinking and flies were buzzing around its stinking mouth. In anger, Waris killed the owl and opened its beak and saw his mothers hair in it.

After that, Waris started doing Yaa by placing food in a plate. After doing Yaa for five days continuously, mothers soul returned in the form of a fly. Seeing mother in the form of a fly, Waris became very sad and said, My mother is no longer my mother. Her form has changed. She is now just a fly, which will just keep flying here and there. Death has separated us forever. Now our worlds have become different. Saying this, Waris started doing Yaa and started explaining to mothers soul that Your and our worlds are different. So now you should never return to the human world. From that day onwards, the Idu Mishmi community started doing Yaa after anyones death.

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