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Overview
An aged traveler gives a poor household a living coney in Rafy’s tale, explaining that a holy man promised wealth to whoever cooked and ate it. He had kept it alive for years because he had become too fond of it to kill it. Now he chooses a family that shared its scant food and shelter with him, warns them against greed, and tells them not to share the special meat with outsiders. The text provides no scientific identification beyond coney.
The household’s mother cooks the animal but excludes her daughter-in-law from the meal. The younger woman takes a little while hungry and is driven out; her husband leaves with her. Their later child, U Babam Doh, sheds tears that turn to gold, which his mother recognizes as the blessing transmitted through the meat she ate. The coney is not restored to life, and the narrative does not separately recount the final fortunes of the remaining original household.
The blessing persists through the son’s later troubles, but his mother deliberately works rather than depend on wealth produced by his distress. His eventual rise to rulership is attributed to the family’s earlier hospitality. This is a narrative link between a miraculous animal, food and inherited good fortune, not a claimed property of any living species or a recommendation to consume it.
Origins & earliest records
Khasi tale selected and presented in English by Mrs. Rafy
Records & interpretation
Complete named chapters, title page and foreword read.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Folk-Tales of the Khasis
XXXII, The Blessing of the Mendicant, Parts I–VI, pp.140–160; Macmillan, London
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
Mrs. Rafy, Folk-Tales of the Khasis (1920)
English collection. XXXII, The Blessing of the Mendicant, Parts I–VI, pp.140–160
Complete tale and foreword read; XXXII allsixparts withtruncatedmiddle separatelyreread. The blessing persists through the son’s later troubles, but his mother deliberately works rather than depend on wealth produced by his distress. His eventual rise to rulership is attributed to the family’s earlier hospitality. This is a narrative link between a miraculous animal, food and inherited good fortune, not a claimed property of any living species or a recommendation to consume it.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical English folklore collectionRafy, Folk-Tales of the Khasis, XXXII, The Blessing of the Mendicant, Parts I–VI, pp.140–160Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
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