This story about a mother crab and her children is retold often from generation to generation among the Lotha people.
A family of crabs lived on the riverbed, soaking in the sun on a day when the sun was at its sunniest of moods. These crustaceans may have seemed the quietest but were known to be the most vengeful of the aquatic animals. They had the look of a small, harmless animal but to trap them was another feat altogether. If they happened to catch a human in their claw, they wouldn’t let physically wrenched out with all one’s might.
As a routine this family of crabs walked out of the river till the end of the sand banks and then back to the waters. It was a daily exercise for the entire crab family. They would talk, share jokes and counsel each other on life. These walks were a good time for the family to bond. They were after all very bored of always hiding under rocks, where they usually make their homes.
They had a hearty meal of foal of small fish, which were passing by the rock that they had inhabited. After a nap, they went out for their ritual stroll. The clear glassy water and the blue sky above glowing with the radiant sun lifted their spirits and put the mother crab in a good mood. So, she decided to tell a story to her little ones. She told them how once one of their grandfathers clenched a greedy fisherman so hard that it vowed never to catch crabs again. The little ones were amused with the story asking the mother after every scene, “Then what happened? Did grandfather clench so hard that the fisherman died?” and the mother ended with the proverbial ending, ‘And since that day, the fishermen stayed away from catching crabs because they realized how strong and stubborn we can be. And so the crabs were never disturbed by humans and they lived happily ever after.’ By the time the story finished, they had covered a large walking area so mother crab called out to the kids to turn back. Lead the way kids. It is time to return home.’
As they were making their way back to the river, suddenly the mother crab noticed something very unusual. She noticed that her children were walking in a very strange manner. The young crabs were walking with their legs tilted sideways, limping on one side. Curious as to why they were walking in such a funny manner she said to the children, Dear children please stop and hear what I have to ask you all. Just now I noticed that all of you seem to be walking in a very strange and tilted way. Why do you do that? I have never seen any other creature walking like this so why are you not walking the normal straight?’ To that question, the eldest child replied, ‘Why mother, it is
They had a hearty meal of foal of small fish, which were passing by the rock that they had inhabited. After a nap, they went out for their ritual stroll. The clear glassy water and the blue sky above glowing with the radiant sun lifted their spirits and put the mother crab in a good mood. So, she decided to tell a story to her little ones. She told them how once one of their grandfathers clenched a greedy fisherman so hard that it vowed never to catch crabs again. The little ones were amused with the story asking the mother after every scene, “Then what happened? Did grandfather clench so hard that the fisherman died?” and the mother ended with the proverbial ending, ‘And since that day, the fishermen stayed away from catching crabs because they realized how strong and stubborn we can be. And so the crabs were never disturbed by humans and they lived happily ever after.’ By the time the story finished, they had covered a large walking area so mother crab called out to the kids to turn back. Lead the way kids. It is time to return home.’
As they were making their way back to the river, suddenly the mother crab noticed something very unusual. She noticed that her children were walking in a very strange manner. The young crabs were walking with their legs tilted sideways, limping on one side. Curious as to why they were walking in such a funny manner she said to the children, Dear children please stop and hear what I have to ask you all. Just now I noticed that all of you seem to be walking in a very strange and tilted way. Why do you do that? I have never seen any other creature walking like this so why are you not walking the normal straight?’ To that question, the eldest child replied, ‘Why mother, it is
They had a hearty meal of foal of small fish, which were passing by the rock that they had inhabited. After a nap, they went out for their ritual stroll. The clear glassy water and the blue sky above glowing with the radiant sun lifted their spirits and put the mother crab in a good mood. So, she decided to tell a story to her little ones. She told them how once one of their grandfathers clenched a greedy fisherman so hard that it vowed never to catch crabs again. The little ones were amused with the story asking the mother after every scene, “Then what happened? Did grandfather clench so hard that the fisherman died?” and the mother ended with the proverbial ending, ‘And since that day, the fishermen stayed away from catching crabs because they realized how strong and stubborn we can be. And so the crabs were never disturbed by humans and they lived happily ever after.’ By the time the story finished, they had covered a large walking area so mother crab called out to the kids to turn back. Lead the way kids. It is time to return home.’
As they were making their way back to the river, suddenly the mother crab noticed something very unusual. She noticed that her children were walking in a very strange manner. The young crabs were walking with their legs tilted sideways, limping on one side. Curious as to why they were walking in such a funny manner she said to the children, Dear children please stop and hear what I have to ask you all. Just now I noticed that all of you seem to be walking in a very strange and tilted way. Why do you do that? I have never seen any other creature walking like this so why are you not walking the normal straight?’ To that question, the eldest child replied, ‘Why mother, it is
They had a hearty meal of foal of small fish, which were passing by the rock that they had inhabited. After a nap, they went out for their ritual stroll. The clear glassy water and the blue sky above glowing with the radiant sun lifted their spirits and put the mother crab in a good mood. So, she decided to tell a story to her little ones. She told them how once one of their grandfathers clenched a greedy fisherman so hard that it vowed never to catch crabs again. The little ones were amused with the story asking the mother after every scene, “Then what happened? Did grandfather clench so hard that the fisherman died?” and the mother ended with the proverbial ending, ‘And since that day, the fishermen stayed away from catching crabs because they realized how strong and stubborn we can be. And so the crabs were never disturbed by humans and they lived happily ever after.’ By the time the story finished, they had covered a large walking area so mother crab called out to the kids to turn back. Lead the way kids. It is time to return home.’
As they were making their way back to the river, suddenly the mother crab noticed something very unusual. She noticed that her children were walking in a very strange manner. The young crabs were walking with their legs tilted sideways, limping on one side. Curious as to why they were walking in such a funny manner she said to the children, Dear children please stop and hear what I have to ask you all. Just now I noticed that all of you seem to be walking in a very strange and tilted way. Why do you do that? I have never seen any other creature walking like this so why are you not walking the normal straight?’ To that question, the eldest child replied, ‘Why mother, it is
They had a hearty meal of foal of small fish, which were passing by the rock that they had inhabited. After a nap, they went out for their ritual stroll. The clear glassy water and the blue sky above glowing with the radiant sun lifted their spirits and put the mother crab in a good mood. So, she decided to tell a story to her little ones. She told them how once one of their grandfathers clenched a greedy fisherman so hard that it vowed never to catch crabs again. The little ones were amused with the story asking the mother after every scene, “Then what happened? Did grandfather clench so hard that the fisherman died?” and the mother ended with the proverbial ending, ‘And since that day, the fishermen stayed away from catching crabs because they realized how strong and stubborn we can be. And so the crabs were never disturbed by humans and they lived happily ever after.’ By the time the story finished, they had covered a large walking area so mother crab called out to the kids to turn back. Lead the way kids. It is time to return home.’
As they were making their way back to the river, suddenly the mother crab noticed something very unusual. She noticed that her children were walking in a very strange manner. The young crabs were walking with their legs tilted sideways, limping on one side. Curious as to why they were walking in such a funny manner she said to the children, Dear children please stop and hear what I have to ask you all. Just now I noticed that all of you seem to be walking in a very strange and tilted way. Why do you do that? I have never seen any other creature walking like this so why are you not walking the normal straight?’ To that question, the eldest child replied, ‘Why mother, it is because you walk like this. Since we always walk behind you, we observed you and took up your way. We only emulated you because you are our mother. Don’t children learn from their parents?’ That was enough to silence the mother, because after all, the children were only following what she had shown them. She herself could not recollect when she even started walking in this manner. She realized then that she needed to be very careful about what she did because her children would inevitably imitate her.
Lotha folklores cite this story till the present generation to remind parents not to walk the crab’s walk or their children would end up living in their footsteps.
Source: The book ‘A Girl Swallowed by a Tree’ by Nzanmongi Jasmine Patton – A collection of Lotha Naga folktales Retold
Illustration: Amrapali Das
