Fake Tiger

Almost two centuries ago Indian people had not been so materialistic as they are during the twenty-first century. Scientific and technological development was very poor. So people were believing spiritualism and occult science with maximity. Especially poor class people other than the elite generally were superstitious. Besides at that time, most of the parts of the Indian subcontinent were full of dense forests packed with ferocious wild animals and uncivilised tribal folks who were depending on forest resources. Some of them were practising occult science and black magic.

In Dalijoda Pragana there is the village Ambilijhari wherein tribal people were living amid the encircling Dense forest, a favourable dwelling place of royal tigers, panthers, leopards, elephants, king cobra, deers, wolves, hyenas, rabbits, pangolins etc. By using black magic some of the tribal persons were keeping those ferocious wild animals under their control. Even some tribal men were able to convert themselves into a tiger and hunt at night.

A tribal man was a black magician who was a native of Ambilijhari. Besides his daily routine work, he used to change his body into a tiger and often was plying into the hillside jungles for hunting deers and kutras. Once during the winter season, he took up the form of a tiger and went into the Forest at night. Here may be noted that

while assuming oneself as a tiger one ought to come back home with the hunted animal at dawn. As per the process, the wife of the tribal man or any other woman should have to sprinkle turmeric water well seasoned by her with a tribal mantra. Otherwise, the man could not regain his human form as before. It was the strict principle of the tribal culture. That was a wintry night. The streets of the tribal village were calm and quiet. The atmosphere was foggy. The human-tiger was carrying a deer with his mouth and reached his doorstep. While he knocked on the door his wife did not open the door. Perhaps she was asleep. So the man waited for some time. Dawn time was gradually coming to end. Alas! The Sun rose in the eastern sky. The man was dumbfounded as to whether he would wait further or go back to the nearby jungle again. He was in dilemma and he had two options... Either he would stay in his courtyard or hide inside the dense thicketswad As his wife didn't open the door and it was morning, he decided to move into the jungle with the hope to return at night. 

The tribal man then returned to the jungle and took a rest near a bush. As he was under the impact of black magic and his wife was careless he could not recover his original form. Then some of the local folks entered the jungle to the collection of fire woods. They noticed him and they ran away in panic. So he apprehended danger for his life if he would stay in the same place. So he walked ten kilometres away and reached the outskirts of a village Jajabhairab Nuagan situated near Charbatia, Cuttack. The place was surrounded by corn fields. He hid inside the cover of the cereal plants. it was afternoon. One of the peasants arrived at the fields to work and had a sudden glance at the tiger. As the peasant shouted at the top of his voice, other peasants ran onto the spot. They marked the tiger's lurking. One of them ran back to the village and informed the village headman. So the entire villagers being informed and instructed by the headman arrived at the cornfields with lathis and spears. The local hunter also reached with his gun. As the tribal man was not a real tiger he lay down under the plant's standstill without any reaction. Then very easily the hunter fired at the fake tiger and killed him. After some time the wife of the tribal man ran up to the spot weeping and weeping. While she look at the dead tiger, her husband, burst into lamenting and narrated everything to the villagers. After coming to know the fact, the villagers felt extremely sad. They solaced the bereaved wife of the tribal man and donated her a sum of rupees one thousand. Then the headman and four villagers carried the dead tiger by a bullock cart to the Collectorate, Cuttack to inform them about the tiger hunt. As per the administrative system during the British India, the then Collector rewarded five thousand rupees to the headman. Then the dead tiger alias tribal man was burried in the Satichoura graveyard of Cuttack town and returned to the village happily. The rewarded money was utilized by the headman on the purpose of village welfare.

( This is a legendary story on the then prevailing superstition and black magic that either may be true or false. As most of the Indian villagers dogmatically trust on black magic superstitiously, this fable may be true to some extent )