A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
After Sa Kyah rescues a sparrow’s five eggs from a monkey, they hatch as a kingfisher, buffalo, tiger, hpea-loo and human. The hpea-loo has a bird’s head and claws with a human body and looks immediately for a person to eat. The youngest human brother is charged with feeding and protecting all the others.
When a ruler tries to seize the human brother’s wife, the animal siblings defeat his successive champions. Finally the hpea-loo rushes from the jungle and swallows the ruler, soldiers and courtiers, allowing his brother to become king. The explicitly described beak and claws are retained without adding wings or equating this figure automatically with a garuda.
Origins & earliest records
Shan traditions of the hill and water country, Burma/Myanmar
Records & interpretation
Full relevant tale and introduction directly read; historical spellings preserved.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Shan Folk Lore Stories from the Hill and Water Country
Introduction dated Bhamo, 1902; The Sparrow’s Wonderful Brood, pp. 78–84
- 02
Shan Folk Lore Stories, in The Red Miriok / Shan Folk Lore Stories (combined edition)
Bibliographic witness only: unpaginated title and copyright pages independently inspected in original scan; publication line says January1903, copyright1901and1902. This does not establish the date of the separately transcribed Gutenberg witness or of first publication.
Family, evolution & connections
The sparrow’s five extraordinary hatchlings
The Sparrow’s Wonderful Brood, pp. 78–84.
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- Unnamed sparrow mother
- Kingfisher (first)
- Buffalo (second)
- Tiger (third)
- Human youngest brother (fifth)
Five eggs from one mother hatch in a specified order; later narration and dialogue identify the hatchlings as brothers. Narrative family only, not real interspecies reproduction or evolution. Sa Kyah protects the eggs but is not called their father. No modern animal species identification is supplied.
Sparrow mother in The Sparrow’s Wonderful Brood
The sparrow lays five eggs, from which the kingfisher, buffalo, tiger, hpea-loo and man hatch. This is the story’s parentage, not a zoological reproductive claim.
Kingfisher brother in Griggs’s Wonderful Brood
The kingfisher and hpea-loo hatch from different eggs laid by the same sparrow; the kingfisher later explicitly invokes brotherhood.
Buffalo brother in Griggs’s Wonderful Brood
The buffalo is the second hatchling, and the hpea-loo the fourth; both help the youngest brother against the king.
Tiger brother in Griggs’s Wonderful Brood
The tiger emerges from the third egg and later protects the youngest brother; its role belongs to this named tale.
Human youngest brother in Griggs’s Wonderful Brood
The man hatches last, is instructed to care for his brothers, and is protected by the hpea-loo when the king tries to seize his wife.
Primary records and illustrations
William C. Griggs, Shan Folk Lore Stories from the Hill and Water Country
Shan traditions; introduction dated Bhamo1902. The Sparrow’s Wonderful Brood, pp. 78–84
Complete relevant narrative and introduction read from Gutenberg32375. Early English spelling retained; no invented individual narrator, modern standardized transcription or physical anatomy. Publication date distinguished from dated introduction. Original combined-volume title/copyright pages independently viewed: archive item redmiriokshanfol0000anna, cached griggs-redmiriok-6.jpg and-7.jpg in public/assets/credited/_audit; publishedJanuary1903. Separate bibliographic witness, not a claim that full original scan text was collated.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical folktale collectionGriggs, Shan Folk Lore Stories, The Sparrow’s Wonderful Brood, pp. 78–84Research access: 2026-10-05
- Primary bibliographic scanCombined volume title and copyright pages, published January1903Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.