Once upon a time there lived a man from the Kirat tribe named Chukmiba. He was smart and savvy beyond his years, and therefore, although he respected the customs of antiquity, he did not take into account superstitions and omens, considering them to be empty nonsense.
After Chukmiba got married, he soon had to, as is customary, perform the dulan ritual - let his wife go to visit her relatives. And in their village the following order was established: the day when the young man was supposed to go to his parents’ house was usually determined by the local astrologer, Pandit Jok Khan. Therefore, the neighbors expected that Chukmiba would invite the venerable pandit to his place in order to ask him for advice. However, he did not think to contact the astrologer. Chukmiba himself chose the right day, and early in the morning, taking gifts for his father-in-law and mother-in-law, he and his wife set off on the road.
The neighbors found out about this and just threw up their hands:
- Well, this Chukmiba is impudent! Look, he wants to live with his own mind!
And Pandit Jokhana, having learned that Chukmiba and his wife had left without consulting him, fell into a terrible rage and decided to take revenge on the impudent guy. Without hesitation, he rushed in pursuit along the mountain path after the newlyweds and very quickly caught up with them.
Just at this time, Chukmiba's wife became thirsty. The sun stood high, desperately hot, and with every step the thirst tormented the woman more and more. In the end, the young woman sat down under a tree and declared that she would not move until she was given a drink. Chukmiba went for water, but how easy is it to find it in the mountains? The guy climbed and climbed, eventually he saw a banana tree, made cuts on the trunk and began to collect life-giving juice to give it to his wife. Meanwhile, the insidious Jokhana, taking the form of Chukmiba, approached the young woman and handed her a jug of water.
- Here, have a drink, little wife! And it’s time to hit the road, otherwise we still have a whole day to go.
The young woman quenched her thirst and walked further with her husband. And little did she know that it was not Chukmiba who was walking next to her now, but a cunning pandit, who through his witchcraft had turned into her husband.
And Chukmiba collected the juice from the banana trunk and hurried to the place where he left his wife. He reached the tree under which she was sitting and looked, but there was no one there. For a long time Chukmiba shouted and called his wife, but only the mountain echo answered him.
“The poor thing must have been so exhausted from thirst that she couldn’t stand it and threw herself off the cliff,” thought Chukmiba and looked at the sky, looking for kites there, the first messengers of death. But the sky was clear. “Thank God, the vultures are not circling, which means my wife is alive! If I go up to the top, I’ll probably see her from there, no matter where she is.”
Chukmiba climbed the nearest mountain, looked around and suddenly saw two travelers far below on the road.
- Hey, there’s no way someone kidnapped my wife! - he cried in anger. - Well, wait, scoundrel, you still won’t get far! - And the guy rushed to catch up with those walking along the road.
He ran very fast, and in less than an hour he overtook his wife and the pandit. When Chukmiba was already so close that he could see the faces of people, he suddenly froze in amazement: his wife was walking hand in hand... with himself!
The poor Kirat's eyes even began to sparkle. Isn't he seeing a dream? Or maybe he's completely crazy? Chukmiba tore off a leaf of titepati and began to chew it. It became so bitter in his mouth that Chukmiba could barely spit out. He looked again at the people walking: for sure, he and his wife were walking along the road. What's going on, really?! He shook his head again, then plucked a stem of gai-de-jahar, crushed it in his fingers and brought it to his nose. Ugh! The stench is such that it is impossible to take a breath! So, for sure, this is not all a dream or a vision!
“It turns out that someone took my image and deceived my wife, and she, poor thing, doesn’t even suspect it,” thought Chukmiba and again rushed after those leaving.
Very soon he caught up with them, grabbed his wife by the hand and shouted:
- Well, take a good look, who are you going with? The young woman looked around and saw another Chukmiba holding her hand! At this point her eyes bulged and she lost her tongue.
- Well, follow me, don’t you see that he is a rogue and a deceiver! - Chukmiba shouts.
- Don’t listen to him, little wife, he wants to deceive you himself! - Jokhana yelled back.
- Oh, you bastard! - Chukmiba exploded. “I am this woman’s legal husband, and not anyone else!”
With these words, the Kirat swung and slapped the cunning pandit with a hefty slap in the face. And he, without hesitation, answered him back. Then the Kirat grabbed Jokhana by the hair and pushed his face into the rock, but the pandit grabbed his enemy by the throat, trying to strangle him. It is unknown how this fight would have ended if the deity who lived in the local mountains had not suddenly appeared here.
- What is all the noise in my domain?! - cried the deity. - Stop and tell me exactly what happened here and what you didn’t share?
Jokhana wiped the blood from his face and hurried to say first: “I walked along this road with my wife.” Suddenly this bastard ran up, grabbed her hand and dragged her along...
- Yes, he’s lying, this is my wife! - Chukmiba interrupted him. “She and I just got married and went to her parents.” On the way, she became thirsty, I left to look for water, and in the meantime this scoundrel, taking on my image, stole my wife. So how could I not give it to him?
After listening to them, the deity said:
“You both claim to be married to this woman.” And she cannot judge which of you is the real husband because you are like two peas in a pod. But there is a way to establish the truth... - And the deity pointed to a jug with a thin long spout. - Do you see this jug? So, whichever of you can get through his nose is the real husband of this woman.
“Well, this is nothing for me,” Jokhana rejoiced, instantly turned into a worm and easily crawled through the thin spout of the jug.
When it was Chukmiba's turn, he said:
- This is justice! Is it possible for a mere mortal to crawl through the spout of a jug! I am an ordinary person, not experienced in witchcraft, and therefore only ordinary people can be my judges. I demand a trial by the panches.
The deity agreed, and everyone went to the panchas in the nearest village. When the elders gathered, the deity addressed their head, the mukhiya.
“These two,” it said, pointing to Chukmiba and Jokhana, “fought over this woman.” They are so similar to each other that the woman herself cannot decide which of them is her real husband. The disputants are people, so they need your judgment.
Then Jokhana and Chukmiba began to prove to the panchas their right to a woman. The panchi listened to them and, having learned that Jokhana had climbed through the spout of the jug, which means he was knowledgeable in witchcraft and could take the form of another, they decided the matter in favor of Chukmiba.
So the panchas returned Chukmiba’s wife and proved that human court is the most just.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru