Book Excerpt: How the mighty Brahmaputra was born, according to Arunachal’s Idu Mishmis

According to a myth of the Idu Mishmi community of Arunachal Pradesh (and Tibet), the Brahmaputra, referred to as Tallao, was the sister of Ringya, the Sun, and she lived in a great lake called Nimtubram. As the Sun lived in the sky, it could travel freely everywhere, but because the lake lived on land and was surrounded by very high mountains from all sides, she could never travel anywhere. Being trapped in one place, the water of the lake was stagnant and it never reached the plains to help mankind. Without a proper flow of water, it was very difficult to grow crops or sustain forests and jungles and this created a problem for man as well. There was a dire need for a channel of water to reach the place where man lived, but because Tallao was surrounded by so many mountains, it was not possible to manually make a channel. Thus, all around, everyone was facing problems because of the scarcity of water in the plains. Soon, a solution to the problems emerged. It so happened that a worm, named Taiyu, who lived very close to the banks of the Nimtubram Lake, dug a small hole and reached the water of the lake. It thus quenched its thirst. Water kept on trickling out of this hole in the bank of the lake. A cat, who was also thirsty, was passing by. He saw the water flowing out and wanted to have a drink. However, the trickling water was too muddy for the cat to drink. Thus, she made a bigger channel to the river and drank the fresh water from it. The cat then went off on its way. Upon witnessing the cat’s remarkable intelligence, Tallao felt compelled to trail after it. Tallao followed the cat and as it wandered, it travelled and settled across many places which were parched because of lack of water. In this manner, a continuous stream was formed on the path that the river took as it followed the cat. Thus was formed the Brahmaputra. Unfortunately, the wanderings of the river soon came to an end as God Drakub made a wall in its path. The water of the river stopped flowing immediately and plants, animals, and humans began to die of thirst. This worried the deity Chainye, who went to Drakub and reminded him that mankind was suffering, and as it was he who had created the earth, he should also sustain it. However, Drakub did not want to remove the wall and sat firmly, keeping a watch on it. Chainye started to think of ways to make Drakub remove the wall. He realized, if he could be removed from his post of a sentry, the wall could be easily broken down in his absence. Chainye finally had an idea. He went and told Drakub that his wife was very sick and was dying, and that he should go and see her immediately. Drakub heard the news, but did not want to move from his post of vigilance. Next, Chainye told Drakub that his son was sick and dying, and once again, Drakub did not pay any heed. Finally, Chainye thought of another plan. He told Drakub that his mother was ill and dying in bed. This time Drakub got worried and wanted to go immediately and meet his mother. Thus, he left his place from the top of the wall and went home. When he saw that the wall was empty, Chainye broke the dam immediately, allowing Tallao to continue on its journey, till it reached down to the plains of Assam, and man and animals were revived.

Excerpted with permission from How the World Was Born: Wondrous Indian Myths and Legends by Lopamudra Maitra @2024AlephBooks