Welcome to the 2022 A to Z Blogging Challenge! My theme this year is Gemstone Folklore. Because I love stories about shiny things. Read the introduction to the project here.
SAPPHIRE
Sapphire is the blue variety of corundum, one of the most precious gems in the world. The blue color is due to titanium and iron. Contrary to popular belief, however, not all sapphires are blue. Yellow, purple, and pink sapphires also exist. (If a corundum doesn't reach a deep enough red hue to be called a ruby, it's called pink sapphire.)
The magic tree
Gujarati folktale from India
Four friends set out to seek their fortune. One night they sleep under a mango tree. Ramji, the one keeping watch, sees three mangos fall, and hears the tree declare what will happen to those who eat them:
one will become king
one will laugh sapphires and cry pearls
one will go to prison.
Then he falls asleep, and his three friends, waking up, unwittingly eat the mangos for breakfast.
Soon they end up in a city seeking to elect a new king. As foretold by the tree, the man who ate one of the mangos is chosen. His friend laughs in joy, and a sapphire falls from his lips. He realizes he can laugh sapphires and cry pearls. His royal friend immediately declares him the first minister. The other two friends go on to seek their fortune; the minister gives them a handful of his pearl-tears for the road.
However, when the friends try to sell the pearls, people think they are thieves, and one of them is arrested. He goes to prison. The king and the minister refuse to help, pretending not to know him. The remaining friend, Ramji - the one who did not eat a mango - returns angrily to the magic tree to chop it down. The tree begs to be spared, and gives him a fourth mango, telling him to feed it to a horse. The fruit transforms the horse into a magic steed, with whose help Ramji rescues his friend from prison.
They then fly to the palace, where the horse kicks the crap out of the king and the minister (telling them to "eat your sapphires and pears!"). It then flies the two friends home, and when they land, the horse transforms into a basketful of sapphires and pearls. The friends live happily ever after.
In the meantime, the king loses his throne and becomes a beggar. The minister is cursed: whenever he tries to eat, whatever he touches turns into sapphires and pearls. Thus, they are punished for their disloyalty.
Sources: Read the story (in Hungarian) here.
Which mango would you have chosen?
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What a lovely tale. It's new to me, although I know a lot about Gujarat.. I would have chosen not to eat any of the mangoes. All of them are problematic.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I would have eaten a mango at all...
ReplyDeleteRonel visiting for the A-Z Challenge My Languishing TBR: S
I enjoyed this one! I like to think that, whichever mango I might eat, I would have told the truth and been loyal to my friends!
ReplyDeleteS is for Sentience
What a great tale. I'd certainly like Ramji as a friend. I'm not sure I'd choose one of the 3 fruits to eat, but I'm pretty sure I'd like to sit under the magic tree and see/hear about what other fruits it could produce.
ReplyDeleteSapphires are truly stunning.
ReplyDeleteVisiting from Facing The Mountain
A lot of tales seem to have the "power corrupts" theme. I'm glad the king and the minister got their just desserts for betraying their friend. Although the minister got the worst punishment. That would be absolute torture followed by a horrible death.
ReplyDelete