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

Overview

Ramai releases a bonga pinned beneath a stone after it promises not to harm him. In return it gives him the ability to understand ants and see spirits, warning that disclosure will end the gift. The narrative describes the transfer through an ear-blowing and eye-touching act; it is not practical advice for obtaining such powers.

His new sight lets him drive spirits from his grain and identify one tormenting a sick man. He finally reveals the secret to his wife after laughing at an argument between ants, and loses both abilities. The donor rewards liberation rather than behaving as an invariably hostile being, while the secret’s loss ends Ramai’s special access.

Grateful bound spirit that gives sight and animal-language understandingSpecific 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

    CLVII, Ramai and the Bonga, pp. 393–395

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. CLVII, Ramai and the Bonga, pp. 393–395

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), CLVII, Ramai and the Bonga, pp. 393–395Research 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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