110 REV. FR. J. HOFFMANN, S.J. 



The grief so poetically depicted in this song is one that falls to the lot of many 

 young people owing to the social system and especially to the marriage customs. 



On the one hand their system, so far as the treatment of women is concerned, 

 differs radically from that of the Hindus There is nowhere a trace of seclusion ; even 

 the simplest form of it, viz., the veil, is entirely unknown. Noth'ng in fact but a flower 

 or a load is ever seen on the head of Mundari women. In return for the large share of 

 in and outdoor work which falls to their lot they enjoy the greatest liberty. They 

 do nearly all the marketing, they freely pay visits to relatives in different villages, they 

 frequent fairs ; noth'ng in fact hampers their movements except a set of traditional 

 rules framed as safeguards of general morality. Hence young people see enough of ' 

 each other to allow of attachments based on real or fancied love. 



On the other hand stands a set of rigid racial marriage customs which but too 

 often oblige young people to sacrifice their feelings on the altar of tribal traditions and 

 superstitions. It is true that parents will never definitely arrange a marriage without 

 asking both the young people concerned whether they agree to the union. Young men 

 and, for the matter of that, even girls may reveal their predilections to their parents and 

 ask them to try a settlement in conformity with their inclinations. But two factors 

 are always ready to destroy even the fondest hopes. Since the wife must be paid for 

 the parents make a claim to be consulted in the matter, and many a young heart is 

 at least temporarily broken over a difference in the number of cattle or the size and 

 quality of rice fields or over some social or superstitious stain attaching to either his 

 or the young woman's family. Supposing, however, all these difficulties to be either 



The second stanza in this variant shows the trees as budding: 



Burura' edelo mini temporjanaea miru 

 Berara' kadalo kare kandiakana kare 



The cotton tree on the hill, my dear, is budding my dear: 

 The plantain tree in the valley is throwing out its bunch. 



Kandi is used of the peculiar formation of both the bud and flower as well as of the bunch of fruit of the plantain 

 tree. Hence the term recurs in the 3rd stanza : 



Burura' edelo miru bajanado jenged jengeda miru 

 Berara' kadalo kare kandijana leon-leona kare. 



The cotton tree on the hill is flowering bright red, my friend 



The plantain tree in the valley, my friend, bears its bunch of flowers gracefully waving, my friend. 



The rest of the song is the same as given above. These two additional stanzas are evidently meant to depict the 

 grace of mature youth more in detail. 



I have been told by one man that the two trees denote both the young man who is represented by the cotton tree' 

 and the maiden whose loss is bewailed, she being represented by the plantain tree. Such an explanation is, however, at 

 variance with the song itself and with the whole character of their poetry and may, therefore, be dismissed as wrong. 



I myself suggested the following explanation of the original song : 



'You Mundas like the forest and fine trees, because they are beautiful. Still you go and cut them down to gain 

 ground for cultivation and then you burn them in order to manure the new ground. So the song complains that the 

 beautiful trees are so ruthlessly cut down. But at the end it says : Well, after all it is all right, because by their ashes 

 the trees give us rich fields. 



Only one elderly man accepted my explanation saying : Sir, your interpretation is also good, it is very good ! in 

 fact it is better than ours. You have found that out by reflexion : uru'tem namakada ! 



Needless to say that I did not feel flattered by his compliment the more so as he himself, being asked about the mean- 

 ing of the song, had begun by giving me the same interpretation as that given in the text above. 



