A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
Mountain spirits carry huge stone mortars into a city and demand an excessive price. The inhabitants explain that the mortars are too large for pounding rice and refuse to buy them. The spirits then insist that the people carry them back up the mountain, leaving the inhabitants to pay because they cannot perform the task and fear punishment. The scattered mortars are presented as the visible explanation for the story. Neither the city nor the spirits are individually named, and their bodily appearance is not described.
Origins & earliest records
Historical Laos country within Siam, as identified by the collection
Records & interpretation
Complete relevant narrative and Willis G. Craig’s introduction directly read.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Laos Folk-Lore of Farther India
I.4, The Mountain Spirits and the Stone Mortars, pp. 23–24
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
Katherine Neville Fleeson, Laos Folk-Lore of Farther India (Fleming H. Revell, 1899)
Historical Laos country of Siam; English collection. I.4, The Mountain Spirits and the Stone Mortars, pp. 23–24
Full story, relevant footnotes and introduction read. Primary witness is the historical English collection; no claim of direct oral field verification, precise modern location or original-language nomenclature.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical folktale collectionFleeson (1899), I.4, The Mountain Spirits and the Stone Mortars, pp. 23–24Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.