Bangladesh Vs. China Mythology

Myths: Bangladesh vesus China Perspective

Introduction

Myth is a one kind of storytelling, it is usually fable or unreal story based and refers to the circumstances of any society. Myths are mainly about Gods or any supernatural beings with greater powers and abilities than ordinary humans. Every community folk culture are filled by the various types of myths. Sometimes such type of Myths give moral teach to the people which is the helping method for social security. Though, sometimes it introduces many problems in the society. By myths we may find the beliefs of any community, lifestyles, spirituals culture etc.

Origin of Myth

• Nature of supernatural power
• Impersonal supernatural power
• Personified supernatural power

According to American Mythologist Joseph Campbell, it can be summed up as “other people’s religion.”

Classical scholar and Professor Elizabeth Vandiver, who admits her personal dislike of Joseph Campbell, explains more laboriously that “Mythology is a canon of stories created by a culture and passed down through the generations of that culture.” She goes on to say that it is mythology or myth, when it is supernatural or fantastic in subject and style, and that it must talk of a culture “other than one’s own” (here we are back to campbell’s “other people’s religion”).

Myths: Bangladesh Perspective

Bangladesh Mythology is one of the richest elements of Bangladeshi culture. It has been passed from generation to generation either by word of mouth. Bangladesh folk tales were created by illiterate communities and passed down it orally from one generation to another generation and it tends to flourish Bengli literature.

Bangladesh is a secular country so it absorbed the all kind of religion and every religion has different types of myth. Hindu Mythology, Islamic Mythology, Vedic Mythology, Buddhism etc.

Myths of Bangladesh

Bhoot-Pret: it’s used to indicate Ghost. It’s believed to be the spirit after death of an unsatisfied human being or a soul of a person who dies in unnatural or abnormal circumstances (like murder, suicide or accident).

Kali Puja: it’s is a religious ritual celebrated by the Hindu community people. On this night, Bengali Hindus lit 14 earthen-lamps at their homes to appease the spirits of their past 14 generations of ancestors. It’s believed that in the night before Kali Puja, the spirits of these ancestors descend upon earth and these lamps help them find their loving home. Another popular belief is that a fearsome aspect of Kali.

Petni/Shakchunni: Petni are basically female ghosts who died unmarried or have some unsatisfied desires. Petni/Shakchunni usually lives near ponds and lakes, and might possess a married woman when they go near ponds for daily chores. People say Petni and Shakchunni also live in Shayora or Tetul trees. They are also believed to be shape-shifters and can take any appearance.

Besho Bhoot: The word Besho comes from the word Baash which means “Bamboo” in Bengali. Besho Bhoot are ghost that live in bamboo gardens. Believed that harmful ghosts live in bamboo gardens and one should not walk pass these areas after dusk. It’s said that when a bamboo leans or lays in the ground, no one should cross over it and should go around it. This is because when someone makes an attempt to cross the bamboo, the bamboo is pulled back straight up by an unseen force and the person can die as a result.

Mechho Bhoot: This is a kind of ghost who likes to eat fish. These kinds of ghosts urges the late night fishermen or a lone person who carries fish with him to give them their fish by saying in a nasal tone “Machh Diye Ja” (meaning “give me the fish”). If the person disagrees to leave the fish for the Mechho Bhoot, it threatens to harm them. Sometimes they steal fish from kitchens in village households or from the boats of fishermen.

Gechho Bhoot: It’s a kind of ghost that lives in trees.

Dainee: It means “Witch”. Dainee is not actually soul or spirit, rather is a living being. It’s believed that the Dainee kidnaps children, kills them and suck their blood to survive a hundred years.

Dhan Kudra: It’s a belief that they stay in somebody’s house and they help the house-owner to make money. They are believed to bring luck.

Rakkhosh-Khokhosh: A demonic fierce-looking being with pointed fangs, sharp claw-like fingernails and superhuman strength. The stories of these creatures feature in the Hindu epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata. The threat punch line by a Rakkhosh in traditional Bengali folk-tales is this couplet: Hau, Mau, Kau,….Manuser Gondho Pau (i smell a human).

Jinn: Jinns can be both benevolent and malevolent. Malevolent Jinns can be really evil and can cause haunting in human residences, empty houses, lakes, graveyards, morgues, hospitals and in the wilderness. Some people are also believed to conjure Jinns and use them to fulfil their evil purposes. Jinns have no physical body of their own and can often take the form of a human or animal. When jinn attaches itself to a living person, people call it jinn possession. Jinns are exorcised by pious people like Iman or Mawlana by reciting chapters from the Al Quran. It has two types of Jinn, good and bad one.  

Myths: China Perspective

Chinese myths also are related with ghosts, monsters and other supernatural creatures. Traditional Chinese beliefs is that a ghost is the spirit form of a person who has already died in the past time. It are typically malevolent and will cause of harm for the living people.

Chinese Myths

Hungry Ghost Festival: It’s dedicated to performing rituals to honor and remember the spirits of the dead. On this day ghosts and other supernatural creatures come out from the underworld and move among the living.