A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

A prince is imprisoned by his father for refusing an arranged marriage after a long search for a bride matching his appearance. One night the wife of the Parganna of the Bongas comes with two other bongas to discuss his predicament. The warders hear their conversation but cannot see them. She proposes that a bonga maiden, rather than a human bride, could match the prince, and dismisses the objection that he has sworn not to marry by suggesting he first see the girl.

A bonga maiden is brought to the prison the next night; the prince accepts her and his father releases the couple for a public wedding. The matchmaker is identified by her husband’s office, not by an individual name, and no parental relationship to the bride is stated. The episode records assistance by bongas within this tale, without treating invisibility as a universal characteristic of every bonga.

Invisible spirit matchmaker who proposes a bonga bride for a prisonerSpecific Santal narrative witness
01

Origins & earliest records

Santal Parganas, eastern India; source-specific Santali storytelling

02

Records & interpretation

Complete relevant tale directly read with existing collection preface and narrator-chain record.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Folklore of the Santal Parganas

    Cecil Henry Bompas, translator; O. Bodding, collector; Sagram Murmu, principal Santali writer credited in preface · 1909

    C, The Prince Who Would Not Marry, pp. 298–300

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

Primary records and illustrations

Direct primary record

Cecil Henry Bompas, Folklore of the Santal Parganas (1909)

Part I, Santal folktales. C, The Prince Who Would Not Marry, pp. 298–300

Full tale read; Part I container directly checked. Invisible matchmakers distinguished from visible bride; crab song not assigned a bonga identity. Printed narrator chain retained without invented individual attribution.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Historical translation of collected narrativesBompas, Folklore of the Santal Parganas (1909), C, The Prince Who Would Not Marry, pp. 298–300Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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