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  Towards evening Khamba, thinking that he might meet Thoibi, determined to go to the lake. So he took a boat and fortunately came to the very place where his sister and Thoibi were. Directly he and Thoibi met they fell in love with each other, and Thoibi asked Khamnu if she knew who he was. The girl replied that he was her own brother, and turning to him asked him why he had come. He said she had been a long time returning, so he had come to meet her. His sister said she would follow, and he returned home. Thoibi, Khamnu and the rest followed, and Thoibi gave Khamnu a great quantity of fish for herself and her brother to eat.

  Now Thoibi had been very much pleased with Khamba, and could not forget him, so she told Khamnu she would pay her a visit at her own house. Then she went away, and they all went, each to her own house. In the evening Thoibi took her servant Senu with her to carry some food, and went to Khamba’s house. Khamnu saw her coming and saluted her, and Thoibi asked her how she and her brother managed to live. She replied that through their poverty they were forced to live by begging. Thoibi replied, ‘Your house does not look like the house of poor people, but seems to belong to a great officer: tell me the truth.’ Khamnu said, ‘My father was an officer under the king of Kumal—so I have heard my father and mother say.’ Thoibi was secretly rejoiced to hear that, and said, ‘It is very late, we cannot go alone; tell your brother to see us home.’ So Khamba went with them and on the way he and Thoibi agreed that they would be betrothed, and took an oath to be faithful to each other, and Khamba came back after seeing Thoibi to her home.

  Some time after this the two divisions of the village of Moirang played a match at hockey.** Kongyamba was the captain of the lower division, and Khamba of the upper division. Previous to this, Khamba had not been renowned among the people, but God made him victorious at hockey, and when he defeated Kongyamba, all the people of the upper division were glad; and after this his father’s friend Chouba introduced him to all as the son of Purelba.

  A short time afterwards all the people assembled and obtained leave from the king to hold a festival†† in honour of the God Thangjing. Kongyamba was appointed to collect flowers to decorate the lower division of the village, and Khamba to do the same for the upper division, and Chouba then introduced him to the king. Early next morning Kongyamba and Khamba went to pick flowers, as the festival was to be held on the following day. Kongyamba told Khamba to go up the mountain, while he would remain where he was; and Kongyamba picked haukeroi‡‡ flowers but Khamba climbed a tree and gathered mellai§§ flowers, and when they had gathered sufficient they both returned home. Later, Thonglel, his father’s friend, called Khamba and gave him all his father’s clothes and ornaments, and taught him to dance. When the king and all the people were assembled for the festival, Kongyamba presented flowers to the deity and the king, and distributed the rest among the people, and Khamba did the same; and the king, seeing that the flowers which Khamba had brought were out of season, gave him a reward. After that the boys and girls began to dance, and the king made Khamba and Thoibi dance together, and all the people talked of their beauty. When the festival was at an end, the king and others made obeisance to the deity, which was taken away, and then they all returned home.

  After some time it happened that wrestling and running matches were held, and Kongyamba was chosen captain of the lower village, and Khamba of the upper village. There were fifteen competitors on either side, and the starting point was at Kwakta. Khamba won the race, whereupon Khamba and Kongyamba wrestled together, and Khamba was victorious. He was also successful in jumping, tossing the caber, and putting the stone; and the king, declaring him the best man, made him a present of clothes.

  Some days after this the time came for the maibi¶¶ to sit at the shrine of the god in order to consult the oracle. Now Kongyamba determined that Khamba must die, so disguising himself as the maibi he sat before the god, and told the king,—’The god declares in a dream that if you can catch the bull which feeds at Ikop and offer it to him, your life will be long and your people happy.’ So the king assembled all his officers and people and said, ‘If the bull which feeds at Ikop can be caught and offered to the god, my life will be long. Is there any among you who can catch it?’ As no one answered, Khamba came forward and saluted the king, and said he would undertake the task. The king was delighted to hear it, and said, ‘If you succeed, I will give you my niece Thoibi in marriage; but the bull grazes on the lands of the kingof Kumal; we must send word to him.’ Thus an officer named Thangarakpa was sent, who told the king of Kumal about the oracle and he agreed to let them catch the bull, proposing that his friend the king of Moirang and he should go together to see the sight.

  When Thangarakpa returned, the king ordered a proclamation to be made, and the next day the king of Moirang and his people, all assembled to see the sight, the two kings sitting side by side on the platform. Khamba came forward and saluted them, saying he was ready, and he and the bull engaged in a deathly struggle. At last he threw the bull down, and bound him with a rope and brought him before the two kings. The king of Moirang was much pleased, and gave him a present of clothes, and a gold necklace and bracelets. The king of Kumal asked whose son he was, and the other king replied, ‘He is of your family, for he is the son of Purelba.’ The king of Kumal said, ‘Then he is my cousin, for Purelba was my father’s elder brother. Treat him kindly.’ The other king said, ‘I have given him my niece Thoibi in marriage.’ And the king of Kumal replied, ‘Then you and I have become relations. Let us go now.’ So they both of them went away home, and the bull was offered to the god of Moirang.

  In the course of time it was determined to hold a shooting match, and every one put on his best clothes. Kongyamba was ordered to pick up the arrows shot by the king, and Khamba those of the jubraja. Now Thoibi had made a very handsome jacket, and when she heard that Khamba was to collect the arrows shot by her father she called her servant Senu and told her to give it to Khamba, and tell him to wear it the next day at the festival. After she had done so, her father the jubraja asked her where the jacket was, as he wished to wear it, but she said she had sold it and could not give it to him.

  So the king and the people of Moirang went to the place where the archery match was held. The king shot first, and Kongyamba picked up his arrow and gave it back to him. Then the jubraja shot, and Khamba picked up his arrow, but as he was giving it back, the jubraja saw that he was wearing his daughter’s jacket, and grew angry, declaring that he would not give his daughter to him, but to Kongyamba. So he called Kongyamba and said to him, ‘I will give you my daughter Thoibi, and you may bring the fruit** for the marriage in seventeen days to me.’ When Khamba’s father’s friends Thonglel and Chouba heard this, they came with Khamba and saluted the jubraja and pleaded with him, ‘Do not dismiss Khamba in your anger.’ But the jubraja answered, ‘The daughter I have reared I have given away, there is nothing left.’ The king was inwardly displeased to hear it, and retired to his palace, while the jubraja and all the people returned home.

  The jubraja called Thoibi and told her that he had given her to Kongyamba; but she secretly determined that she would not consent, and went to her mother, the first queen, and said, ‘My father has given me to Kongyamba, and told me to marry him, against my will.’ The queen replied, ‘The king gave you to Khamba for having caught the bull; tell him to come and marry you.’ So she sent word to Khamba through her servant Senu. Early next morning Khamba took some fruit from his father’s friend Kabui Senang Maiba, and carried it home with him. And the same morning Kongyamba brought his fruit for the marriage, but as Thoibi did not love him she pretended to be ill and he returned home. After this, on the queen’s advice, Khamba brought his fruit, but Thoibi did not go with him, as the jubraja was angry and would not eat of the fruit that he had brought. So Thoibi put it aside carefully to give to her father when he was in a good humour. Meanwhile the jubraja went to hunt wild beasts at Tarbul, but was not successful, and as he was returning the god Thangjing inspired him with a great desire t
o eat some of Thoibi’s fruit, so that when he reached home he asked her for some. She prepared the fruit which Khamba had brought, and gave it to him. He said, ‘My daughter, this fruit is very good, where did you get it?’ She replied, ‘It is the fruit which Khamba brought, and which you refused to eat.’ At that he grew veryangry, and said, What! Have you given me the fruit which I refused to eat before?’

  The jubraja thought in his heart that Khamba had bewitched his daughter, so he determined to have him beaten, and sent a servant to call Kongyamba secretly. Kongyamba came and saluted him, and the jubraja took him aside and said, ‘Call Khamba to Khauri bazar and assemble your friends and relations to beat him, for he has bewitched my daughter, whom I gave to you.’ Kongyamba went away rejoicing and assembled all his friends and relations, and called Khamba, and took them all to Khauri bazaar.

  The jubraja secretly took one of the king’s elephants called Gnangkharakpa Saranghalba, and went to the same place and said to Khamba, You have spoken softly to my daughter and made her mad; now if you will at once promise to give her up I will not beat you, but if you refuse, your grave shall be in this bazaar.’ Khamba replied, ‘Jubraja, even though you do not love me, yet when I caught the bull you and the king gave your daughter to me in the presence of all the people; and moreover she and I are betrothed, and have taken an oath to be faithful to each other, so I cannot give her up.’ The jubraja hearing this became very angry, and said he would kill him. Khamba said, ‘I will abide by the constancy of your daughter, and will never turn my face away from her.’

  The jubraja then told Kongyamba to assemble his men to beat Khamba, and he and all his men rushed in and attacked Khamba. The latter girt up his clothes and attacked them in turn without turning his face away; but they were so many that they overcame him and beat him severely, and the dust rose in such clouds that their bodies could not be seen. There were thirty of them, so that he could not resist them. Then the jubraja became still more angry, and said, ‘If he acts like this in my presence I will kill him at once; bring the elephant.’ So all the men seized Khamba, and began to tie him to the elephant’s foot.

  Now, while this was going on, Thoibi was asleep, but the god came to her in a dream and told her that Khamba was being killed in the bazaar. She opened her eyes and wondered what it was, and then she called her servant Senu, and took a knife in her hand and went out. When the jubraja and the men who were tying Khamba to the elephant’s foot saw her they all fled.

  Thoibi went up to the elephant and said to him, ‘Elephant, if you kill my lover, trample me under foot and kill me too,’ and she took an oath to die under the elephant’s feet. The elephant, seeing she was a good woman and had taken an oath, lowered his tusks to the ground and trumpeted; and she, seeing Khamba, asked the elephant to undo the rope by which he was tied, and as he did so, she said to Khamba, ‘My dear, have you suffered all this for my sake?’ and they both wept together.

  Meanwhile Khamba’s sister Khamnu, and his father’s friends Thonglel and Chouba, hearing the news, ran up from all sides. When they saw Khamba, Thonglel and Chouba both grew very angry, and said, ‘Bring Phairoichamba with you and come to the palace.’ So they all went and found the jubraja sitting there. Thonglel said with anger, ‘Who has beaten my son?’ He had come there with many followers, wearing his sword, spear and shield, and all his war dress and ornaments; and the people, when they saw the numbers with him, and his angry looks, were all afraid. Thoibi told the king all that had happened, and the king was greatly displeased when he heard that Khamba had been beaten, and went to his throne-room to give his judgement in the matter. He decided that the jubraja was at fault, and forbade him to enter the palace again, and ordered all the men who had beaten Khamba to be themselves beaten. But when Kongyamba was about to be beaten, Khamba saved him by saying that he was not at fault—all the blame was with the jubraja. So Khamba and all the people returned home, and the king ordered them to take care that his servant Khamba did not die, putting him in the charge of the royal doctor and instructing Thonglel and Chouba to see that he had proper food while he was ill.

  One day shortly after this her father the jubraja said to Thoibi, ‘For five days I have been trying to persuade you to marry Kongyamba; why do you still persist in refusing him?’ Thoibi replied, ‘Both you and my uncle the king promised me to Khamba when he caught the bull, and I have taken an oath to be his slave; I will not live with Kongyamba.’ At this answer the jubraja grew angry, and said, ‘If you do not obey me, your father, I will sell you as a slave to my friend Tamurakpa at Kubbo, and I will take the full price for you and spend it in feasting on fish.’ Thoibi answered, Whatever my father says is right.’

  Early next morning the jubraja, saying he would make a slave of Thoibi, called five of his servants and gave them orders concerning her. And she, seeing that her father intended to carry out his purpose, sent her servant Senu to Khamba secretly to tell him about it—how her father had made a slave of her, and that five men were appointed to conduct her to Tamurakpa. So Khamba went and waited quietly on the road, with a bamboo stick in his hand, and when he saw Thoibi he said sadly, ‘I have nothing else to give you; take this and think of it as me.’ So he gave her the stick, and she went on her way, while he went sorrowfully home.

  When Thoibi sat down to rest by the roadside, she broke the stick in two pieces on the spot and called God to witness that if she were true and faithful the bamboo†† should sprout, and she planted one piece there and it sprouted. After going a little further on the way she saw a large stone, and she said, ‘If I am chaste and have truly chosen Khamba, may the stone become soft,’ and she put her foot on it, and the footprint was left. When she arrived at the house of Tamurakpa, the five servants told her that she was not really sold, but that her father had sent her there to frighten her, and they asked Tamurakpa to treat her kindly, and went away. Tamurakpa called his daughter Changning Khombi, and told Thoibi to make friends with her and live there happily.

  After three months’ time the jubraja felt pity for his daughter, and called his five slaves and told them to fetch her back, and next morning he sent for Kongyamba and said to him, Today my daughter Thoibi will return from Tammu; wait for her on the road and try and persuade her to go to your house. If she refuses and escapes from you, say no more to me about her, for I will not give her again.’ Kongyamba saluted gladly and went away, and his father and mother and all his relations waited in his house, expecting Thoibi to come. Meanwhile he mounted his horse and taking two servants with him, waited on the road for Thoibi to come. Now Senu, the servant of Thoibi’s mother, heard the news and told Khamba secretly, and he told his sister Khamnu, but was undecided whether he should go to meet Thoibi or not. Meanwhile Tamurakpa told Thoibi that her father had sent for her, and she must go home, and he gave her some silk and other presents.

  Now Thoibi, thinking Khamba would have heard the news, had made him a jacket and a full suit of clothes. Before she started she put on her ornaments and best clothes, and made obeisance to the household god of Tamurakpa, praying that she might be united with her lover; then she saluted Tamurakpa and his wife, and he blessed her and told her that her wish would come to pass. And her friend Changning Khombi gave her a present, and hoped she might succeed in her wish. So she set out with her father’s five slaves, and to her sorrow met Kongyamba on the road; for she did not love him; but he was very glad, and tried to persuade her to go with him by saying that her father had given her to him. Thoibi pretended to be glad outwardly, and sat down near him, but she put the stick which Khamba had given her between them, and thought of it as if it were Khamba himself, and determined to run away to him. At last she hit on a plan, and said she felt feverish. Kongyamba asked how she could be cured, and she said that if she could mount a horse and ride it till she perspired she would be well. So Kongyamba had his horse brought, and Thoibi put the saddle on her head, and saluted it, and saluted all the gods, praying that they would bring her to Khamba’s house. Then she mounted the
horse and galloped him up and down, but when she was at some little distance she galloped away, and by the help of the gods, who looked favourably upon her because she had saluted them, she arrived safely at Khamba’s house. He and his sister Khamnu received her joyfully, and Kongyamba’s horse was let loose.

  Meanwhile Kongyamba, tracking the footprints of the horse, came to the front door and saw Thoibi in the verandah, and thinking that there would certainly be a quarrel he went away quietly, and told his father and mother how Khamba had taken Thoibi away and got the better of him. He said he would go next day to the king and demand justice. Meanwhile his family remained in the house.

  Thoibi’s servants brought all the things which Tamurakpa had given her to Khamba’s house, and they all remained there that day, and word was sent to the jubraja that Thoibi was there.

  Next day, early in the morning, all the officers of Moirang assembled before the king to decide the dispute between Khamba and Kongyamba; but while it was being heard, news came that a man had been killed by a tiger at Khonentak. Then the king said to Khamba and Kongyamba, This news has come while we are hearing your dispute, so whichever of you can kill the tiger shall have my niece, and let God be the witness.’ They both agreed, and all the people were witnesses thereto. So the people surrounded the tiger,‡‡ and built a fence round the place where he was, and early the next morning the king and all the people went to see the sight. As Khamba was starting, Thoibi said to him, ‘If I am faithful and pure, you will certainly kill the tiger,’ and she saluted her god and remained at home. Khamba and Kongyamba, each taking his weapons—spear and dao—and two servants, went to the place where the tiger was.

  They knelt before the king, and he gave paan to each of them, and told them to be careful not to be killed, saying if one was wounded the other was to protect him. The two friends then saluted the king and all the people and went into the enclosure; the king and the people, holding their tiger-spears, waited to see the sight. As the two entered the tiger-net the people raised a shout. Khamba entered on the north side, and Kongyamba on the south. Kongyamba saw the tiger first and struck at it with his spear, but the tiger turned it aside with its paw and leaped up to seize him, and he, thinking the tiger would certainly bite him, caught it by the loins, and they both struggled together, but the tiger succeeded in biting Kongyamba on the back of the neck. Khamba then came up, and the tiger seeing him went away, and he took Kongyamba and gave him to his father to be taken care of. The king then ordered Khamba to go in again, and he went to the place where the tiger was, but when it saw him it ran away, and he chased it to strike it with his spear. The tiger ran round and round the enclosure, and the people shouted at the sight. Now, since Thoibi was faithful, through the might of the god to whom she had prayed, the tiger was afraid of Khamba, and could not turn its head towards him. In its efforts to escape it caught hold of the platform where the king and a great number of people were assembled. Khamba came up and put his foot on the beast’s tail, and when it turned to bite him he struck it in the open mouth with his spear and killed it. The people were all rejoiced, and presented the tiger to the king. Khamba’s father’s friends Thonglel and Chouba came to the spot, and the king was much pleased, and gave Thoibi to Khamba, conferring upon him all the offices which his father held, together with a handsome present, and he and all his people went home. Kongyamba was taken to his home, where he died. The jubraja was very glad, and Thoibi rejoiced when she heard the news, and Khamba went home a great man. Thoibi told Khamba he must be very tired, and gave him rice and vegetables of all sorts to eat, which she had cooked carefully, and as she was much pleased she attended on him with great devotion.