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Burha Dangoriya. Статья из «Призраки, чудовища и демоны Индии»

Burha Dangoriya

This is a well-known, well-respected, and benevolent spirit from Assam. Burha Dangoriyas are ghosts of pious and dignified elderly gentlemen. They are tall; they dress in spotlessly white dhotis and kurtas with perfectly-tied turbans; they live in trees.

Burha Dangoriyas don’t usually meddle in human affairs, except to attend an important pooja or some other ceremony. On rare occasions they may possess a person, but only in order to speak some sage advice to the person’s friends and family.

The only time one of these ghosts will ever cause harm is if someone tries to cut down its tree. In this case the offender may be struck ill or suddenly weakened before they can finish. If other people gather to try to complete the job, they may find that the tree becomes as hard as steel and impossible to cut. Or they may find that, even when the trunk is chopped all the way through, the tree refuses to fall over — no matter how hard it is pushed or pulled — and regenerates its trunk overnight.

In case it is really essential to chop down a Burha Dangoriya’s tree, the spirit should be approached respectfully, and a logical case laid out. If a convincing argument is put forward with impeccable manners, the ghost can sometimes be persuaded to move to a new home.

The Burha Dangoriya also has a seat in a special enlarged pillar in the Namghar — the community prayer hall of the Ekasarana sect. No one is allowed to sit next to this pillar, and the ghost gets offered the first prasad after a service.

Bullet Baba. Статья из «Призраки, чудовища и демоны Индии»

Bullet Baba

On December 2, 1991, a twenty-one-year-old man named Om Singh Rathore was riding his Enfield Bullet motorcycle down National Highway 65 in Rajasthan when he lost control, struck a tree, and was instantly killed.

In the morning, the motorcycle was taken to the local police station and parked in the evidence room.

But the next day, it was missing.

The bike was soon noticed back at the site of the accident, in the same ditch it had been taken from.

The police took the bike back to the station. This time they locked it up with a heavy chain. But in the morning the evidence room was again found empty, and the bike was discovered back in the ditch once more, near the tree it had crashed into.

As legend has it, this kept on happening; no matter how securely the motorcycle was stored, it mysteriously returned to the site of the accident in the middle of the night. People soon came to believe the bike was being ridden there in the night by the ghost of Om Singh Rathore, now known as Om Banna, or Bullet Baba.

Today the motorcycle stands in a temple at the site, where it is venerated as an idol. Devotees do aarthi for it every morning, tie red threads on the front tire, give offerings of whiskey to Bullet Baba’s ghost, and pray for safe travels. It is thought to be unlucky to pass the shrine on a two-wheeler without giving, at the bare minimum, a slight bow of the head.

Sometimes, in the middle of the night, the bike is said to mysteriously turn on by itself.

Bugarik. Статья из «Призраки, чудовища и демоны Индии»

Bugarik

The Bugarik are a race of water-wights, subordinate to the Buga. They are also called Sangkinnies.

The Bugarik appear as giant serpents, occasionally with beautiful human heads. They are thought to inhabit deep pools and rivers, such as Tasek Lake in Meghalaya. They have supernatural powers, and occasionally they pull hapless humans to their deaths. But for the most part, they stay hidden.

The progenitor of the Bugarik is Bugarik Bugasil, who is a servant of the Buga Raja. Another Bugarik, by the name of Sarenchi, is credited with naming the days of the week of the Garo calendar.

Ref: 205. Lyngdoh, Margaret. (2012). The Vanishing Hitchhiker in Shillong Khasi Belief Narratives and Violence Against Women. Asian Ethnology. 71. 207-224. (pdf-файл); 206. Lyngdoh, Margaret. (2013). Alternative perceptions of belief among the Khasis: the Weresnake and the Weretiger. International Society for Ethnology and Folklore; 306. Rongmuthu, Dewan Sing. (1960). Folk Tales Of The Garos. Department Of Publication, University of Gauhati.

Buga. Статья из «Призраки, чудовища и демоны Индии»

Buga

In Garo mythology, the Buga are a race of shapeshifting mermen that live in streams and rivers, especially in the Brahmaputra. They bear many similarities to the Nagas of Hindu and Buddhist mythology.

There are many well-known tales in which a Buga falls in love with a human. In some of these legends, the human is abducted, while in others the couple may try to live consensually either above ground or in the aquatic realm. However, the stories usually end tragically.

Bugas have the power to keep humans alive underwater, though some say it is only the spirit of the human that the Buga takes, discarding the body as food for the crocodiles.

Buga Raja and Dombe

One famous story tells of a couple named Dombe and Joreng, two newlyweds who were head over heels in love with each other. Joreng could never stop talking about how lucky he was to be married to such a beautiful woman.

One day, he made the mistake of talking about her to a friend while they were walking over a bridge on the way to Dareng market. It so happened that the Buga Raja, king of the mermen, was at that very moment swimming in the stream beneath the bridge. He overheard what Joreng said.

The Buga Raja was very curious about Dombe. He sent his spies to verify that she really existed, and that she was as beautiful as Joreng claimed. The spies went out and came back and told him that it was true.

Budangma. Статья из «Призраки, чудовища и демоны Индии»

Budangma

Today, the Garo people of Northeast India, who also call themselves A·chik Mande, are mostly Christian. Before their conversion, they practiced a religion known as Songsarek, which still survives in some villages.

In the mythology of this religion, Budangma was an ogress — an extremely ugly and deformed cyclops-woman who liked to carry children away in the middle of the night to eat them alive. She was as tall as the tallest tree on earth, with a huge protruding nose, thick pouting lips, and earlobes that reached down to her ankles. Her earlobes were stretched so long that when she slept, she would pull them over herself like a bedsheet.

Budangma was eventually killed by the Goera, the hero-god of strength, who knocked her down with one blow from his club and hacked her body to pieces.

Ref: 306. Rongmuthu, Dewan Sing. (1960). Folk Tales Of The Garos. Department Of Publication, University of Gauhati.

Btsan. Статья из «Призраки, чудовища и демоны Индии»

Btsan

Btsan are warrior demons who live in the mountains of Ladakh and Tibet. They wear red silk with leather helmets, carry red lances with blood-soaked pendants, and ride red horses.

From the front, they look like human beings, but from behind, their backs appear to have been ripped away, exposing all their bloody internal organs. The unlucky sight of this horror can cause illness and death. Most Btsan are very malefic, and only very great sages can hope to pacify them or calm them. However, they can sometimes be held captive in cages made of iron.

Legends tell of vast armies of Btsan warriors who ride invisibly across the land. If a house obstructs the path of one of these campaigns, it can bring disastrous luck, as the occupants will be struck by the Btsans’ poisoned arrows.

Probably India’s best-known Btsan are the Seven Rong-Btsan Brothers, who are guardian spirits of Ladakh. These demons were originally from Bodh Gaya in what is now Bihar. They were once wild and ferocious. They caused so much trouble that eventually they were caught and imprisoned in an iron cage. Later on they managed to escape and travel to Tibet, where they caused much havoc. But after a while they got homesick and decided to make their way back towards Bodh Gaya.

On the way they passed through Ladakh, and they found it very beautiful. Two of the brothers stopped at the Ladakhi town of Gya and decided to remain there. Another two stayed at Matho; another two at Stok; and the last one at Skyurbuchan.

In each of these places there is now a famous monastery over which the Btsan preside.

Ref: 458. Dollfus, Pascale. (2006). The Seven Rongtsan Brothers in Ladakh, Études mongoles et sibériennes, centrasiatiques et tibétaines, 36-37 | 373-406.

Bram Bram Chok. Статья из «Призраки, чудовища и демоны Индии»

Bram Bram Chok

The Bram Bram Chok, also called the Ram Ram Chok, is a monster from Kashmiri folklore. Its distinguising characteristic is the light that shines from its torchlike eyes, which are placed on the very top of its head. The rest of its body is more rarely glimpsed, but it is said to be covered with long dark hair.

There is some dispute as to the creature’s size. Some say it is just two or three feet tall, and lopes like a wolf; others describe it as a hulking giant. It may be able to shrink and expand at will.

Bram Bram Choks normally inhabit marshes and caves, but on winter nights they can wander far from home, especially during heavy snowfall. Most often they are seen as mysterious lights racing along lonely mountainsides; but there are also stories of Bram Bram Choks making noctural forays into towns, even into densely-populated neighbourhoods of Srinagar. They are thought to be very ancient creatures, but despite this they can move very quickly — much too quickly to be caught.

People who cross the path of the Bram Bram Chok tend to get lost. In the city, this can be inconvenient and frustrating; in the snowy wilderness, it can be deadly. It is also said that anyone who looks upon the monster’s hideous face will fall unconscious. Then the creature drags them to its lair. It is unknown what fate awaits them there.

Ref: 94. Drabu, Onaiza. (2019). The Legend of Himal and Nagrai: Greatest Kashmiri Folk Tales. Speaking Tiger Publishing Pvt Ltd; 457. Native Fibs- A revisiting (Tales in Kashmiri folklore). (2015) The Troubled Waters.

Brahmadaitya. Статья из «Призраки, чудовища и демоны Индии»

Brahmadaitya

A Brahmadaitya is the ghost of a dead brahmin man. He usually appears wearing wooden shoes and a white dhoti, with a sacred thread across its chest.

Apart from this physical description, not many generalizations can be made. Some Brahmadaityas are kindly spirits, while others are vindictive and murderous. Some are known for obnoxiously showing off their knowledge of Sanskrit. Others are content to let the living alone unless their tree of residence is disturbed.

Some say Brahmadaityas are the ghosts of brahmins who died without ever marrying. Others say they are the ghosts of brahmins who were murdered or died unnatural deaths. Still others use the word as a synonym of Munjya, meaning the ghost of a brahmin who died shortly after the ceremonial tying of his sacred thread.

One well-known tale tells of a poor brahmin (a still-alive one) who is on the verge of starvation when he hears about a haunted vakula tree (Mimusops elengi). The tree is known to be home to a legion of evil ghosts who attack anyone who approaches. The zamindar of the area has offered a huge plot of land to anyone brave enough to cut a branch from the tree.

The brahmin, who figures he has nothing to lose, decides to take up the challenge, and walks bravely towards the tree. One hundred evil ghosts advance towards him menacingly; but among them is a brahmadaitya, who speaks kindly to the poor brahmin. They become friends. The other ghosts, following the Brahmadaitya’s instructions, cut a branch from the tree and give it to the poor brahmin.

The brahmin presents the branch to the zamindar, who recognizes that it really has come from the haunted tree. So the brahmin claims the land as his reward, and proceeds to plow and plant it.

Bootham. Статья из «Призраки, чудовища и демоны Индии»

Bootham

Although the Tamil word Bootham is etymologically related to the Hindi Bhoot, the two terms describe very different spirits*. The Bootham is the more powerful of the two. While Bhoots tend to be restricted to the house or the village they died in, Boothams are free to roam the earth. They can assume practically any form at all.

In older Tamil texts a Bootham was a ferocious guardian spirit. The epic tale Silappathikaram (“The Story of the Anklet”), set in the time of the early Chola Kingdom, tells of a huge statue that stood at the intersection of four roads at the entrance to the port city of Poompuhar. This stone monster was called the Sathukka Bootham. It was supposed to protect the city from liars, hypocrites, and thieves. If anyone spoke slander about a woman of Poompuhar, the Bootham would come to life in the nighttime, drag them out of their houses, and wring their necks.

In later stories, Boothams have come to bear a strong resemblance to the Jinn of Muslim lore.

Like the Jinn-in-the-lamp from the tale of Aladdin, a Bootham is capable of supernatural speed, approximating instantaneous movement. It is also immensely strong. If a Bootham is given the task of building a thousand palaces, he can finish the job before you snap your fingers. Boothams can cause things to move without touching them. They can also conjure objects from thin air.

Bonga. Статья из «Призраки, чудовища и демоны Индии»

Bonga

The Munda languages are a group of 22 tribal languages spoken in East and Central India. The best known of these is Santali, with about eight million speakers. It is also the only one with official status at the national level. Mundari — spoken by the Munda tribe, which has given its name to the whole group — has just over one million speakers. The Ho language has about the same. A few of the others, such as Gutob and Turi, have so few speakers that they are seriously endangered.

These languages are not Indo-Aryan languages, like Hindi or Bengali. Neither are they Dravidian languages, like Tamil or Telugu. Nor yet are they Sino-Tibetan languages like Ladakhi, Mizo, or Bodo. They belong to a fourth family: the Austroasiatic languages, which includes faraway relatives like Vietnamese.

Most people who speak Munda languages have a traditional faith that bears little resemblance to Hinduism. Many instead call it Sarnaism or Sarna Dharam, a term which unifies the faith of the different tribes.

Bonga, in Sarnaism and related belief systems, is a general term for a supernatural entity. This includes deities, such as the creator god Sing Bonga (also known as Thakur Jiu), as well as ambivalent spirits, malevolent entities, and ghosts.

Anthropologists who have studied the Santals and other tribes have remarked on how believers do not talk much about the Bongako (the plural form) — partly out of fear of divine power, and partly because of the spirits’ unknowability. Furthermore, the deities of Sarnaism are not worshipped as idols, but in a sacred grove of sal trees, called the sarna sthal. As a result, there is little in the way of physical descriptions of these entities.

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