Ghost World👻



A long time ago, a girl named Yanam lived in a village. Like the last time, this time too a terrible epidemic spread in the village. In the last epidemic, Yanams mother, sister, brother and grandmother died. The epidemic before that killed her grandparents, uncles, aunts and their children. Now only Yanam and her father were left in the family. But this epidemic did not spare her father either. This little soul was deeply hurt by the death of her father. Yanam loved her father very much, she was her fathers beloved princess. Her father also used to sacrifice his life for her. Yanam suffered a deep mental shock due to the untimely separation from her father.

When the villagers started taking her fathers body for burial, Yanam started crying bitterly and hugging her fathers body, she said to the villagers, I will not let the body be buried. The body will remain here, I will take care of it. Yanams innocent mind thought that the almighty Dotri-Polo (Sun-Moon) will surely hear her cry and bring her father back to life. The villagers got tired of explaining to the innocent Yanam that the dead never come back to life. But Yanam remained adamant on her stubbornness, did not budge an inch. Finally, the villagers gave up and with a heavy heart had to tie Yanam with ropes, so that the body could be buried on time with proper rituals.

After burying the body, the villagers untied Yanams ropes. An old woman from the village brought her to her house and said to Yanam, I will take care of you, from now on you are my daughter. Dont think of yourself as alone. Tears were not stopping from Yanams eyes. She kept crying remembering her father. Again and again her fathers gentle face kept appearing before her eyes. In this way night fell. The old woman and other members of her family slept. But Yanam was so distressed that she could not sleep. She kept waking up again and again. Yanam quietly picked up the shovel and went out of the house.

In the darkness of the night, she reached her fathers nyablu (kan) with a shovel. Yanam started crying again. While crying, she kept digging the grave and kept saying, I want to live with you, I cannot live here alone like this. What will I do alone I am also coming to you. When the soil on top was removed due to digging, Yanam saw that her fathers body was wrapped in a cloth. Yanam applied more force and removed the soil with her hands and jumped inside the grave. Inside, she saw that her fathers body was kept right in the middle of the grave and on both sides of the grave were the things used by her father. In the Jishi tribe, it is a custom to keep the things of the deceased in the grave. Yanam collected those things and kept them in a corner and sat in the corner right in front of her fathers head. She sat and started crying again, her eyes became swollen due to crying. Then this tired little soul fell into the embrace of sleep.

Perhaps she must have slept for three days, because the day she woke up, she witnessed a strange and supernatural event. After waking up, Yanam was staring at her fathers dead body, when she saw a very surprising scene that suddenly there was some movement in her fathers dead body. Then there was a loud sound of something tearing. She rubbed her eyes and saw that the cloth in which her fathers dead body was wrapped was torn in the middle. A hole was formed at the place where the cloth was torn and light smoke came out of that hole and then that smoke slowly took a shape. A face started emerging from that shape. Yanam opened her eyes wide in surprise and saw - this face was not of anyone else, but it was of her father. Yanam jumped with joy. She held her fathers hand, but what was this! Her fathers hand did not fit in her small palm. She was not able to touch the hand. Now she tried to touch her fathers body, but even the body was not in her grasp. It seemed as if she was trying to catch the air. Yanam thought, How strange, I am not able to catch hold of father and he is not even looking at me! Yanam saw that father was sitting on his own dead body. He yawned loudly and kept his hand on his head and sat in a thoughtful state. Yanam stood in front of him, but he did not even look at Yanam. Yanam even called him Abu (father), but he did not hear. Yanam was very surprised, she was the apple of her fathers eye, but what mistake did she commit that her father was ignoring her. Now Yanam started crying. Yanam thought that father would hear her cry and console her, but exactly the opposite happened. Father quietly got up and went out of the grave. Yanam felt that father had changed so much in a few days! Thinking this, she started crying even louder.

After some time, father came down inside the grave carrying many things with him. These things included lobo (comb), yochik (small knife), dumpen (beads made of small metal beads), saala (chillum) and bopa (cap) etc. Yanam recognized these things very well. Yanam thought, All these things were kept at home, so did father go home and bring these things This means if this is not father then who is it Is this his soul Yanam had heard from grandmother that when a person dies, then after three days his soul returns to his home and takes his remaining things. Yanam now understood, That is why father is not able to see and hear him. Yanam became even more emotional. She looked at father with helpless eyes. Father was completely unaware of Yanams presence. He sits over the corpse and combs his hair, then makes a pudum (tying bunches of hair in a bun in front of the forehead). He puts on a dumpen on his head and enhances his hairstyle. Then he applies bopa and wears a new dress. After that he smokes a salla (chillum) with a relaxed attitude. During this time, the soil at the corner of the grave starts cracking slowly.

Father looks at his face in the bowl of water, strokes the pudum and glances at the clothes he is wearing. He is all dressed up and ready. After this, he goes inside the soil from the corner of the grave, which had cracked and turned into a pit. But Yanam was not going to give up! She too jumped into the pit after her father. It was pitch dark! Yanam kept moving ahead in the pitch dark. She could not see her hands in the blackness of the darkness. Only the light of fathers pipe was burning and extinguishing like a firefly. It seemed as if she was chasing an invisible image in a long and dark tunnel. Yanam kept moving continuously, not stopping anywhere for even a moment. Because, she was afraid that if she stopped, father would go miles away from her and she would never be able to reach him. I dont know for how many days her soft feet followed her father in that dense darkness. While walking, suddenly there was a bright light and Yanams eyes closed automatically. When she opened her eyes, she saw that her father was standing in front of a big log of wood. Father took his steps back and then running fast, took a long leap and reached the other side of the log. Yanam also followed her father, but after hitting the log, she fell down with a thud. Yanam started crying. What if her father disappeared! She quickly climbed the log. After climbing the log, she jumped down and stood up after wiping the dust with her hands. Then she saw such a scene that her mouth remained open. She could not believe her eyes.

There is a whole village settled there. A crowd of people gathered. Many known and unknown faces. Among those faces were Yanams grandparents, uncles, aunts, maternal uncles and mother. Yanams innocent mind became eager to know which world is this, where all the dead have come back to life Is this imagination or reality Is there any reality to this imaginary world It seems to be a magical world. Yanam started feeling proud of her luck, thinking that how fortunate I am to have entered this wonderful world. There are so many children like me in the village who are unaware of this wonderful world. Yanam ran to her mother in joy, but mother did not see her. No one saw Yanam in the crowd present there. All the people were completely unaware of Yanams presence. The women stood in a group and started welcoming father with Punu dance. Grandfather went forward and hugged father and said that we were waiting for you. Now you have reached your real place, lets go home. Yanam remembered that this is why his father was saying a day before his death that grandfather was repeatedly coming to him in his dreams and calling him.

Grandfather and other family members brought father home. Yanam also followed them. There were many children and pets in the house. Among these children were Yanams sister, brother and uncles children. Yanam saw Ikk Tummu, Ikk Yesa (names of dogs) among the cats. She had started sobbing while crying on the death of these dogs. Yanam buried the bodies of both the dogs by digging the soil with her tiny fingers. But both of them are alive in this world. Both the dogs started barking on seeing Yanam. Uncle picked up a stick from the rakki (roof just above the stove) and chasing the dogs out said, It seems, we have seen some opo oo (ghost). Grandfather said to uncle, Bring some rice and wine and keep it at the door, everyone should get their share. Do not forget to give the offering. This will prevent the evil spirit from entering the house unauthorisedly. Uncle kept the rice, meat and wine in the veranda. Yanam also came out to the veranda. She was hungry and thirsty for many days. So she swallowed the rice and meat immediately and drank the wine in one breath. As soon as her hunger and thirst were satiated, she fell asleep.

Nam used to sleep in the verandah. Every day she used to get offerings in the form of rice, meat and wine in the morning and evening. The elders of the house used to go to the fields in the early morning and used to return before sunset. Throughout the day the children used to play various games and create a ruckus in the house. Yanam used to join the children invisibly. Even if someone was unaware of her presence, she used to participate in the games regularly. Many days passed in this way.

One evening, suddenly father returned from the field and took to bed and did not get up for two-three days. Seeing the seriousness of the situation, grandmother said to grandfather that he would have to call Jeeb (priest) for treatment. Grandfather did not delay either, he immediately sent uncle to call Jeeb. Jeeb touched fathers body and said, This disease is serious. To test the disease, Jeeb ordered eggs and chicks. First of all, Jeeb put an egg in a bamboo basket the size of a palm and holding the thin bamboo rope tied to the basket in his hand, started chanting mantras (this method of worship is called Pap-chinam in the Jishi tribe). After some time, the basket containing the eggs started shaking. Jeeb jumped up and said, Yes, I have found out the cause of the disease. Everyone looked at him with curious eyes. Jeeb said in a mysterious tone, This is the wrath of some human power. Now we will know who this person is by Porok Ro Kognam (Chicks liver test) He took a hen chick and killed it by twisting its neck. Then he ripped open the chicks chest with a knife and took out its heart. He kept the heart in a vessel filled with pure water and started reciting mantras. He kept reciting mantras with his eyes closed. Then suddenly his eyes lit up. Jeeb addressed grandfather and said, A person has been following your son for a long time. Saying this, he sat down after doing a parikrama inside the house. Jeeb said, Now I will call that person here with my miraculous power. Then he blew towards the door after reciting some mantras, Yanam came and stood near him by herself, hypnotized. Jeeb asked Yanam about her identity. After knowing her identity, he said to Yanam, Daughter, you should go to your real home, Tani-Mok (the world created by Tani, i.e. Earth). This is Ui-Mok (the world of spirits). You have entered this world without permission. You will have to return.

Saying this, Jeeb started telling his grandfather that his granddaughter named Yanam has reached this world while following her father. Hearing this, the family members started crying loudly. Yanams mother requested Jeeb while crying that she wanted to see Yanam once. Please let her see Yanam with your divine power. Yanams father, who was in a sick state, also pleaded to Jeeb, Please let me see my flower-like daughter once. Is it not possible that Yanam stays with us forever in this world You are all powerful. Jeeb replied neutrally, All power has a limit. The power which is not bound by any limit can only be a destructive power. I am helpless. I am bound by the law of nature and all of you are well aware of the law of nature. Only the soul of a dead person can enter this world, not any living person. Yanam has no right to enter this world, because he has not died till now. Yanam has a long life. When his time in Tani-Mok is over, he will definitely have to come here. The division of these two worlds has been decided by nature, not by me. Yanam can never join us in human form, nor can we ghosts in their world. No one - Whether human or ghost, no one has the right to encroach upon their own world. We all have to respect the laws of nature. Saying this, Jeeb looked at Yanam and said to her with tenderness in his voice, Daughter, we know that you love your father very much. I am overwhelmed to see your love for your father. Your devotion to your father is unique. Your devotion to your father defeated even nature for a moment. But now you have to return. As long as you stay here, your father will not regain his health. Do you want to make your father sick forever Yanam said in a choked voice, No, never! I am ready to return. Send me back as soon as possible. Hearing this, Jeeb chanted the mantra rapidly and taking a long breath, blew it on Yanam with full force. Yanam does not remember what happened after that.

When Yanam regained consciousness, she found herself in the house of the old woman who had brought her home after her fathers death. Jeebs statement proved to be 100% true. Yanam lived a very long life. When she grew up, she got married to the old womans son. They had many children. Then these children also got married. Yanam even got her great-grandchildren married and then one day, without causing any pain to anyone, she passed away in her sleep. Meanwhile, in Ui-Mok, Yanam was welcomed with great pomp and show amid joy and finally she was reunited with the ghosts of her relatives.