Tapta (/tap-taa/) is a character in

Meitei folklore Meitei folklore is the folklore and mythology of the Meitei people of Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagal ...

of Ancient Manipur. It is a creature described by a mother's imagination to her child, to stop their cry. Etymologically, "Tapta" is made of two words, "Tap" (sound of water drops falling on the ground) and "Ta" (literally meaning "to fall") in Meitei ( Manipuri).

Summary

Once there was a child who never stopped crying. One night, when it was raining heavily, a thief came to steal a horse from the house of the child and a tiger also came to prey on one of the horses from the same place. As the two criminals were silently waiting a right time for their chances in the dark corners of the horse-stable, they heard the mother ("father" in another version) telling her child about many scary creatures, like the

elephant Elephants are the largest living land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant ('' Loxodonta africana''), the African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''), and the Asian elephant ('' Elephas maximus ...

, the

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

, the

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

and the

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large Felidae, cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is ...

coming, to pacify his crying but it was of no use to the child. And the non-stop weeping child suddenly remained silent when the mother mentioned the name "Tapta". So, both the thief and the tiger believed that "Tapta" might surely be a dangerous creature. In the darkness, the thief started searching for the horses in the horse-stable. And as he was touching things one by one in the darkness, it coincided that he held the legs of the hiding tiger, thinking it as one of the horses in the stable. And the tiger thought that the person holding him would be none other than the so-called "Tapta". And so, the ferocious tiger behaved like an obedient pet animal, fearing of the "Tapta". In the darkness of the stable, the thief prepared reins and saddles on the tiger ("false horse") and drove him away towards the woods. Again in the darkness of the woods, the tiger still believed that the person riding on and driving him was the so-called "Tapta". And during the dawn, when there was abundant light, the thief recognised that the creature he had stolen was not a horse but a tiger. So, he tried to escape himself from the driving beast but the tiger never stopped running. The thief saw a branch of a tree on the way the tiger was running. And with intelligent and quick steps, he jumped on the branch leaving the tiger alone running. A few moments later, the tiger realised the absence of the "Tapta" (actually, the thief) from his back. So, he thought that "Tapta" might even be able to fly on the air, that was how he was gone from him. So, on his way back to home, the tiger met many other animals, including a

bear Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family (biology), family Ursidae (). They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats ...

, an

, a

fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

and even another

(variable according to different versions of the story), to whom he narrated all the incidents. All these animals did not trust him and asked him to take them to the spot where the "Tapta" had freed him. On the other hand, the thief hid himself on a "tree hole" ("tree hollow") of the same tree, on whose branch he had jumped on. As the animals led by the tiger came to the spot, the tiger told them that the very spot was nearby the tree with a hole (where the thief was hiding). So, in searching for the "Tapta", they met many unlucky circumstances, leading them to believe in what the tiger had said to be correct. For example, when the bear inserted his small

tail The tail is the elongated section at the rear end of a bilaterian animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage extending backwards from the midline of the torso. In vertebrate animals that evolution, evolved to los ...

to the tree hollow, the thief pulled it inwards with his full strength and let it go off, that the bear fell to the ground. When the elephant inserted his trunk into the tree hollow, the thief hurt it with something (probably with a stick) so hard that the elephant yelled with pain. Finally, all of these animals approached to the lion,

His Highness Highness (abbreviation HH, oral address Your Highness) is a formal style (manner of address), style used to address (in grammatical person, second person) or refer to (in grammatical person, third person) certain members of a reigning or formerly ...

of the forest, and narrated all the incidents. So, the lion decided to check out the

matter In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume. All everyday objects that can be touched are ultimately composed of atoms, which are made up of interacting subatomic pa ...

by Himself. Meanwhile, the thief had escaped and ran away for safety. And as the lion arrived, there was no one at that place. But the other animals still believe that there is a dangerous creature called the "Tapta".

References

{{Reflist

Other websites

Folk_Tales.Tapta
* Tapta by G.C. Tongbra, 1982 Meitei literature Meitei folklore Pages with unreviewed translations Tigers in Meitei culture