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

Overview

Bompas describes the Kisar bonga as a house-dwelling spirit whose activities can enrich its host. In The House Bonga, a headman’s spirit steals cooked rice, grain and vegetables from neighboring homes. A dropped pot leaves muddy rice that is later served to the headman’s workers, helping a pursuer explain the thefts.

After another pursuit, the spirit can be heard scrambling to hide but cannot be seen inside the house. The villagers fine the headman, after which it stops stealing in that village. A separate tale names a Kisar bonga Mainomati and connects its departure with returning buried money; those events do not establish that every house bonga is the same individual.

Household spirit associated with wealth and stolen provisionsSpecific 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

    Part IV introduction; CLI, The House Bonga, pp. 380–382; CLIX, pp. 396–397

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. Part IV introduction; CLI, The House Bonga, pp. 380–382; CLIX, pp. 396–397

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), Part IV introduction; CLI, The House Bonga, pp. 380–382; CLIX, pp. 396–397Research 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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