Red Bell
Udaypur, Tripura
This is a tale from long ago. There was a village nestled against the hills of Mizoram, and the head of that village was named Raleka. The headman's son, Senerya, was a brave warrior. However, he wasn't interested in jhum cultivation; since childhood, he was more enthusiastic about the forest and hunting. He was a skilled archer, effortlessly hitting his target.
One cold winter morning, Senerya went into the forest with his spear and bow. He waited patiently for prey. After some effort, he managed to kill a large wild boar and dragged it back to the village. That day, there was a grand feast in the village. Everyone knew that when Senerya went hunting, he never returned empty-handed. By that time, his hunting prowess had spread to the surrounding villages as well.
Senerya's parents were getting old. They wanted their son to get married and settle down. Senerya wasn't interested in that. Eventually, after much persuasion, he agreed. However, he had one condition: he would choose his bride himself.
Meanwhile, in a neighboring village, there was a headman named Jialunga who had an extraordinarily beautiful daughter named Jolkhipori. As much as she was beautiful, she was equally talented. Be it sewing, weaving, dancing, or singing—she excelled in everything.
At a festival in that village, Senerya saw Jolkhipori and liked her. He returned home and informed his parents that he had chosen a bride. Raleka was delighted upon hearing about the girl and sent a proposal to Jialunga. But due to an old enmity, Jialunga promptly rejected the proposal.
Even though Senerya was disappointed, he didn't lose hope. This time, he himself went to Jialunga with the proposal. Jialunga couldn't say no to such a brave young man directly. However, he set a condition. What condition? He had to bring a red bell.
Senerya asked, “What kind of red bell?”
Jialunga explained, “You know the Tuibuon river, right? There’s an old woman named Thichui living by the river. She has that bell. I want it. If you can bring it, then I'll let you marry Jolkhipori.”
The next day, Senerya left his village with his parents' blessings. After walking for several days, he reached the banks of the Tuibuon river. He found the old woman and told her everything. The old woman was extremely impressed by this stranger's manners and behavior. She agreed to give the red bell to Senerya. However, she also set a condition—“Every day, a wild boar comes and destroys my crops. If you can capture it, only then can I give you the bell.”
What could Senerya do? He had no choice but to agree to the condition. He went to the old woman’s jhum field and set a trap. Then he prepared a shelter behind the nearby bushes to sleep at night.
In the dead of night, he heard the loud grunting of a wild boar from the field. Senerya rushed to see a giant boar caught in the trap. It charged at him upon seeing him. However, it couldn’t break through the sturdy trap. After a struggle, Senerya managed to cut off one of its ears. He then ran to the old woman’s house to inform her.
Meanwhile, the trapped boar started wailing. Hearing that, the leader of their group arrived and saw that the largest boar in the group was caught in the trap. Realizing that losing such a powerful member would be disastrous for the group, the leader quickly left a small piglet in the trap and took the big boar away.
The next day, at dawn, the old woman and Senerya arrived at the field. The old woman was furious upon seeing a small piglet caught in the trap. Senerya was also astonished. The old woman scolded him and left.
Senerya stood there, bewildered. The mystery wasn’t clear. At night, a giant boar got caught, and by morning, it turned into a small piglet! What kind of mystery was this? Senerya hatched a plan. He released the piglet. Once free, the piglet ran off. Senerya followed it.
Breaking through the forest, the piglet eventually reached its den. Seeing it, all the other boars emerged from all around. They were astonished to see Senerya. The leader of the boars stood before him. With a commanding voice, Senerya ordered, “Bring out the big boar that was caught in my trap.”
The leader of the boars pretended not to understand and questioned, “Big boar? You followed this piglet here. Where would you find a big boar?”
Senerya didn’t waste any time. He said directly, “Fine, tell all your group members to come and stand in a line before me. I’ll recognize my captured boar. I cut off one of its ears.”
The leader of the boars argued back. It refused to gather all its members together. At that moment, hearing the argument, the ear-cut boar appeared from somewhere. That was it; the leader was embarrassed. It had no choice but to hand it over to Senerya. Senerya returned to the old woman with the boar. The old woman was extremely pleased and handed over the red bell to him.
Senerya didn’t delay and rushed back toward his village. As he neared the village, he started ringing the bell. Hearing the sound, everyone came running to welcome him. Senerya couldn’t wait any longer—to present the bell to Jialunga. He crossed his village and sped toward his future in-laws' house.
Just then, disaster struck. Due to a recent rain shower, Senerya slipped and fell off the hill. The bell bounced away and fell into a stream. Senerya immediately dove into the water. Diving deep, while searching for the bell, he arrived at the kingdom of the Nagas. The king of the Nagas lived there. He was the leader of Senerya’s tribe. The Naga king found the bell and handed it to Senerya. He then accompanied him to Jialunga.
Jialunga was overjoyed to receive the red bell. He immediately fixed a date for his daughter’s wedding. Then, one day, amidst much festivity, Senerya and Jolkhipori got married.
The place from where the bell fell was named Darlon Thalong. The residents there became known as Darlon. This is how the surname Darlong originated among a group of indigenous people today.
(A Folktale of Tripura)