I have shown elsewhere that the study of lullabies and nursery-rhymes is not only interesting but is also important by reason of the fact that these items of folklore often embody ethnographical and, sometimes, historical facts.

In this paper I propose to publish the texts in Devanâgarî script, and the English translations of the first instalment of a collection of lullabies and nursery-rhymes which are current among the people of the district of Chittagong in Eastern Bengal.2 Along with the English translation of each nursery-rhyme, I shall give short notes thereupon, setting forth the ethnographical facts embodied therein, as also the other interesting features thereof. This instalment consists of eight nursery-rhymes.

The first of these nursery-rhymes is a lullaby or song which is crooned by the women-folk of Chittagong for the purpose of lulling their babies to sleep. It is as follows :—

( १ )

१. निद्राली मा मुंइ ( मासी ) आमार माथा खाइयो ।

२.

भासन दिताम शक्ति नाइ पागनार चोखे बइचो ||

३. उतरथुन् भाइयेर् अनि चान्या घोड़ात् चाड़े,

1 Vide my article "On Some Lullabies and Nursery-Rhymes from the District of Pâbnă in Eastern Bengal" in The Journal of the Anthropological Society of Bombay, Vol. XII. pp. 129–146.

2 The texts, in Bengali script, of these Chittagong nursery-rhymes have been printed at pages 109-114 of the Bangiya-Sāhitya-ParishatPatrika (The Journal of the Academy of the Bengali Literature at Calcutta), Vol. XIII (for 1313 B.S.).

१०. एक घोड़ा कपाले चान ( चान्द ) |

११. जादुर मारे जिज्ञास् कर कन् घोड़ा करिवदान ||

Translation.

I.

1. (0) goddess of sleep! (thou art my) mother (and) maternal aunt. I adjure you most solemnly (lit., mayst thou eat my head).

2. (I) would have given (thee) a seat to sit upon. (But I am unable to do so as) it is not within (my) power. (Please) sit upon the eyes of the darling baby (lit., of the mad stripling).

3. From the north, sleep is coming, riding on (a) horse who has got a crescent-shaped white mark on his forehead.

4. From the south, sleep is coming, riding on (a) red horse. 5. From the east, sleep is coming, riding on (a) black horse. 6. From the west, sleep is coming, riding on (a) white horse. 7. The darling baby's mother is spinning thread (and) twisting the long strands of thread.

8. The darling baby has gone out to run (a) horse on the north bank of the big tank.

9 and 10. One horse is black; one horse is white; (and) one horse (has got) a crescent-shaped white mark on (his) forehead.

11. Ask the darling baby's mother which of the (aforedescribed) horses I should present (to the baby).

NOTE.

The most interesting feature of this lullaby is the fact that the goddess of sleep is stated therein as coming from four points of the compass, riding on horses of different complexions. I have not, up till now, come across any invocation to the goddess of sleep which is similar to this.

Line 7 of this lullaby shows that the spinning of thread was and is still a household occupation of the women-folk in rural Bengal.

Another noteworthy feature of the foregoing lullaby is that the goddess of sleep" is addressed therein as "mother and maternal aunt." But, in the Bengali lullabies from Lower and Western Bengal, she is addressed as "l or "the maternal aunt (i.e., the mother's sister) and the paternal aunt (i.e., the father's sister) who lull children to sleep." They are coaxed to come and give sleep to the baby by the offers to them of a fine mat to sleep upon and of all sorts of delicate viands to eat. [See lullabies Nos. 74, 212, 291, 309, 346 and 352 in the collection of the Bengali nursery-rhymes which have been compiled by Bâbu Jogîndranâth Sarkâr under the title of "Khukumaṇir Chhaḍa" (6th edition of 1326 B. S. Published by the City Book Society from No. 64, College Street, Calcutta)]. This book will be referred to in the subsequent portion of this paper as Sarkar's Collection."

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In the lullaby No. 205 of the same collection, the Giver of Sleep is addressed as "The Old Lady of Sleep" (

The second nursery-rhyme is as follows:

( २ )

१. पोइरर पारत् बायि डुया,

).

1 and 2. (Just as), on the bank of the tank, the clump of bamboo burns very slowly (that is to say, at one time emits smoke only and, at another time, bursts into flames),

3 and 4. The girl, (while) going from her parental home. (to her husband's home), weeps with loud sobs.

as

5. (The girl consoles her weeping parents by saying follows): "O (my) parents! don't weep. Don't break (your) hearts (by weeping and sobbing).”

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6. Though I have been born in your family (lit., house), (yet I am destined to) live in my husband's home (lit., in another's house)."

7, 8, 9 and 10. (The girl says to somebody who comes to see her): "Tell (my) mother to send, along with (my) brother, a maid-servant (so that she) may serve and minister to the wants of her (lit., their) son-in-law (that is to say, of my husband). Tell (my) father to send, along with (my) brother, (a) milchcow (so that she may give milk which may be made into) clotted cream (and) butter, (and so that), by partaking of (these delicacies), his (lit., their) son-in-law (that is to say my husband) may become plump and fat.

Note.

From the foregoing nursery-rhyme, we get an interesting glimpse of the fact that, among the Hindus of Bengal, it is considered 'good form' for a newly-married young girl to weep when leaving her parental home, for the first time, for her husband's house. If she does not do so, it is considered 'bad form.'

Lines 5 and 6 represent the girl as consoling her parents who are weeping at the prospect of separation from her. This is, however, not the actual practice. The composer of this folkrhyme appears to have arbitrarily introduced this statement into it.

The aforementioned custom appears to have been current in India from ancient times. In some old folk-songs connected with the cult of the sun-deity, which have been collected from the district of Barisal in Eastern Bengal, the Sun-god is described as having been married to Gaurî. After the marriage, she is described as going to her husband's home. At the time of her departure, her relatives bless her by saying:

1. (0) Gaurî ! to-day go (to your husband's house) weeping. 2. (0) Gaurî! to-morrow come (to your parental home) smiling."1

Some scholars are of opinion that the custom of the newlymarried bride's weeping at the time of her first departure for her husband's home is a survival of the custom of bridecapture. In Wales and some other places, the bride is hidden or disguised when the bridegroom's party come to fetch her away. She is usually expected to make a great show of offering resistance to her departure and to weep loudly. This is a noteworthy feature of the marriage-ceremonies of the peoples of Eastern Europe. Among the Mordvins of Simbirsk in Russia,

1 Typical Selections from Old Bengali Literature, Part I Published by the University of Calcutta, 1914. Pages 170-171.