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

Overview

Seven thirsty brothers promise their sister to the being they believe is hiding water from them. They later induce her to wade into a pond until she drowns. A bamboo grows where her body reaches the bank, and her voice tells a flute-maker where to cut it.

The resulting flute is stolen by a man captivated by its tone. Each night it becomes a woman; when he prevents her departure, she remains human, the flute disappears and they marry. The narrated sacrifice is not evidence that such a killing was a customary Santal rite. Bamboo, instrument and restored woman form one continuous character.

Drowned woman who returns through bamboo and a fluteSpecific Santal narrative witness
01

Origins & earliest records

Santal Parganas, eastern India; source-specific Santali storytelling

02

Records & interpretation

Complete Part IV tales CXLVIII–CLIX and preface directly read; exact relevant sections identified.

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

    CLV, The Bonga’s Victim, pp. 388–391

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 IV, bonga narratives. CLV, The Bonga’s Victim, pp. 388–391

Relevant tales completely read along with Part IV introduction and full preface. Bodding/Murmu/Bompas mediation explicitly retained; original Santali manuscripts not independently inspected. Narrative supernatural claims distinguished from independently verified history or medicine.

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), CLV, The Bonga’s Victim, pp. 388–391Research 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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