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

Overview

The spirit of a banyan tree resents the king and Ai Du Ka Ta sleeping beneath it. Ai overhears its plan to collapse the tree, break a bridge, bring down a city gateway, change drinking water into needles and finally send a huge rat to kill the king. Advance knowledge lets him foil each attack.

The tale specifically calls the hpea near-sighted: it mistakes a stone thrown onto the bridge for the horses and collapses it too early. The final rat has sharp teeth and glaring eyes, but is an agent sent by the spirit rather than an explicit transformation of it. A warned guard kills the rat, ending the king’s immediate danger.

Tree-dwelling spirit with successive lethal trapsSpecific historical witness
01

Origins & earliest records

Shan traditions of the hill and water country, Burma/Myanmar

02

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.

  1. 01

    Shan Folk Lore Stories from the Hill and Water Country

    William C. Griggs, collector/reteller

    Introduction dated Bhamo, 1902; Story of the Princess Nang Kam Ung, pp. 45–57, especially pp. 53–56

  2. 02

    Shan Folk Lore Stories, in The Red Miriok / Shan Folk Lore Stories (combined edition)

    W. C. Griggs; combined volume published by American Baptist Publication Society · 1903

    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 & 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

William C. Griggs, Shan Folk Lore Stories from the Hill and Water Country

Shan traditions; introduction dated Bhamo1902. Story of the Princess Nang Kam Ung, pp. 45–57, especially pp. 53–56

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.

Inspect the digitized plate · Source collection manifest

References

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

  1. Historical folktale collectionGriggs, Shan Folk Lore Stories, Story of the Princess Nang Kam Ung, pp. 45–57, especially pp. 53–56Research access: 2026-10-05
  2. 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.

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