Indian Express
Sign In | Register Now
Newsletter | ePaper
Indian Express >  National Network > 

A myth caught in mist

Font Size
Tilak Rai Posted: Aug 04, 2008 at 0227 hrs IST
Related Stories: Bangla infiltrator gets Indian passportAssam to tighten measures to detect, deport infiltratorsBangla infiltrator who contested Assam elections arrestedMaoists observe ‘martyrs week’, Orissa on alert
Shillong, August 3: One would have thought that tales of a giant monster skulking in the forests would not have transcended the realm of bedtime stories told to threaten recalcitrant children, but the “Mande Burung” story has been given such a spin that both the national and international media have given it a serious look, and in the process, have lent the story a certain stamp of authenticity.

If the seas of Europe are inhabited by mermaids and sirens, if Scotland is home to the Loch Ness monster, the Garo Hills in Meghalaya, it goes, gives refuge to a huge ape-like creature known in the local dialect as ‘Mande Burung’ or jungle man — a beast that is said to be the Indian counterpart of the American bigfoot, the Australian yowie or, closer home, the Nepalese yeti.

Now hair from this elusive beast has been dispatched for DNA analysis to Oxford Brookes University in central England. With the results eagerly awaited here, local lore and ‘first-hand’ accounts are all that interested parties — including several well-regarded news publications from the West — have to go by.

Ads By Google
Take for instance Julius Marak’s story. A curator in the Arts and Culture Department of Meghalaya, he claims that way back in 1988, his son Renting Momin and his friends had seen Mande Burung in the nearby jungle of Rongjeng in the East Garo Hills. “They said Mande Burung seemed to be about 5 feet tall even when he was sitting down and he resembled an ape. When they saw the creature, they pelted it with stones and it fled from there,” recalls Marak.

Although Marak is not certain whether the beast sighted by his son was just a large monkey or the fabled Mande Burung, he is convinced that the jungle man exists. “The creature disappeared after its mate was booby-trapped and killed by Bachok Sangma. I wanted to take a picture but Bachok had already eaten it and sold the skin.”

When questioned about this, Meghalaya Principal Chief Conservator of Forests V K Nautiyal found it difficult to conceal his impatience. “In 1988 I was the Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) and frequently travelled to Garo Hills. Then how is it that I was not aware if somebody trapped a Mande Burung?” He adds that Bachok might have trapped a tailless hoolock gibbon and mistaken it for the jungle man. “Nobody has come with any credible proof or information, and in the absence of any scientific evidence, the Mande Burung rightfully belongs to Garo folklore and mythology,” he insists.

... contd.

Ads By Google
Post Comments
Message*
Maximum characters allowed     
 
Name* Email ID*
Subject* Country*
TERMS OF USE:
The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments posted or part thereof. You shall ensure that the comment is not inflammatory, abusive, derogatory, defamatory &/or obscene, or contain pornographic matter and/or does not constitute hate mail, or violate privacy of any person (s) or breach confidentiality or otherwise is illegal, immoral or contrary to public policy. Nor should it contain anything infringing copyright &/or intellectual property rights of any person(s).
I agree to the terms of use.
View all Messages [ 0 ]
View all Messages [ 0 ]
Group Websites : Express India | Financial Express | Screen India | Loksatta | Kashmir Live | Biz Publications
Privacy Policy | Feedback | Site MapThe Indian Express Group | Work With Us | Adverise With Us | Contact Us© 2009 Indian Express Newspapers (Mumbai) Ltd. All rights reserved
*Recipient(s) name *
*Recipient(s) e-mail address *
(Separate addresses by commas)
*Your Name *
*Your e-mail address *
Select your Country
Comments(optional)

The name(s) and e-mail address(es) you provide will
not be used for any purpose other than to inform the
recipient(s) of your identity. (*mandatory field)
 
Close