Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 23, 1912.djvu/200

178 the tragic tale of Khamba and Thoibi, which, as Colonel McCulloch says, never fails to rivet attention. The scene of this tale and the place where it was originally sung is Moirang, still a large village, on the western edge of the Logtāk or great lake of Manipur, which in manners and customs is in many respects distinct from the generality of the Metheis. "The hero and heroine are persons said to have flourished hundreds of years ago. Thoibi is the daughter of the Moirang chief's brother. She loves Khamba, a lad poor in worldly riches, but rich in personal beauty, of good descent, great modesty, courage, strength, and agility. Thoibi is a young lady of unsurpassed beauty, and Khamba, having seen her by chance whilst boating on the Logtak, loves her at first sight. But the course of true love never did run smooth. A person named Kong Yamba saw Thoibi's love for Khamba, and, wishing to gain her for himself, he used all the means that a powerful connection gave him to crush Khamba. The various perils through which Khamba has to pass and the constancy of Thoibi form the burden of the song. After having won his foot-race, speared his tiger, caught his wild bull, and been tied to the foot of an elephant, Khamba gains Thoibi, who also passes through various troubles. The end is tragical. Khamba doubts his wife, and, trying her fidelity, she, not knowing who he is, spears him. Some of the characters introduced in the tale are very good. The constant repetition of this tale only seems to increase the desire to hear it. Thoibi is regarded as a goddess, and that Khamba was a man of giant proportion is held to be incontestable. This idea that Khamba was of giant size is not derived merely from his celebrity in song: that their ancestors were giants is believed by all." To this day at the temple in Moirang are preserved the robes of Thoibi. In style they are of the fashion still in vogue. The material is silk, very heavy and handsome, with an embroidered edge which does not differ in any